Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch
by RavenBloom
Summary: Many years have passed since the time of the Mermaid Princesses, and Lucia is now the new Aqua Regina. An ancient evil threatens her regime, and three opposing forces are drawn into a battle royale of epic proportions. Only one side will survive... or will they? A fic-version of an RP between me, Yeelimso, NeneKanerva, Lupin Dark, Kry Chi, and YuiKudo.
1. Prologue

After over a month of RP-ing on a forum, I've finally put the role-play into story form. The RP, Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch, the link of which can be found in my profile, is the deciding factor on how this story will go, which is why there is going to be unusually timed updates.

Here's the prologue, and enjoy the story.

* * *

"I solemnly swear, on my divinity and blood, on my people and my kind, to protect this world and fulfill my most sacred duty, to the utmost limit of my ability."

Lucia, blonde and blue-eyed in her mermaid form, repeated the lines of the sacred oath after Aqua Regina, her hand dutifully clasping her pink necklace. Inside, her pearl pulsed with resounding light and energy as she spoke each word, seemingly getting even brighter and brighter with each line.

The regal woman smiled down at the Mermaid Princess. "With heart," she announced, "I relinquish my throne of power to the princess of mine blood." Her hands reached up and removed the silver tiara encrusted with jewels and held it out with her hands. "By the Fates' power, I crown you the Ocean Queen."

Lucia's crystal blue eyes moved over to the three misty figures in the corner of the room, surrounding a glowing crystal sphere. She looked over to her beloved husband Kaito, smiling encouragingly beside the rest of the seven Mermaid Princesses and steeled her resolve. She lowered her head to the older blonde, repeating the words that had been drilled into her mind by the queen for the past few hours. "This one solemnly accepts the throne."

Aqua Regina lowered the bejeweled tiara onto her head, and once the fine silver touched her blonde locks, power thrummed through her form, turning her to her idol form. Her long blonde hair fell in golden waves down her back, her dress vanishing and replaced by a long, powder-blue gown identical to the one Aqua Regina wore. A thin, gauzy blue sash appeared around her arms, cascading smoothly to the floor.

"Aqua Regina," the former queen announced, her voice loud and echoing around the room. "This power I bequeath to you, from predecessor to successor, from one queen to another. My regime ends thusly, and here yours shall start. My queen, thy servant bows to you!" She released the tiara onto her head, stepping back and sinking into a low bow.

Lucia looked up, exhaling shakily, and she stood straight. With ribbons of light, Aqua Regina's golden staff appeared into her hands and she slowly walked towards the throne of the Ocean Queen. Unused to the light, airy feeling that filled her, she took careful steps to the throne and gently sat down. Steeling herself, she raised her staff to the sky and proclaimed, "So mote it be!"

The seven seas could feel the change of power to another's hand, and all across the oceans, mermaids sank into low bows in a show of respect.

Lucia's blue eyes flicked over to her friends and Kaito, and inhaled sharply. So began the reign of the next Ocean Queen.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Years passed since the era of the Guardian Princesses, as Lucia and her fellow Mermaid Princesses were known as in the history logs. Soon after her ascension, the much-widely beloved queen set to work. Lucia as the new Aqua Regina began to start trying to re-introduce Panthalassans and Demons back into the marine world, slowly at first, while trying to balance out her new duties as the ruler of the oceans.

As she did her job, the years flew by. The Guardian Princesses were replaced with various successors through the generations, from good rulers to bad ones; from politicians to war-thirsty warriors. During these years, Aqua Regina succeeded in her goal, though not without much trial and error.

After so many years, she had done it. The Panthalassa Clan and the Demons were finally reunited with the sea, as they should be.

Not all was to be, however. The Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic steadfastly refused to accept the two races in society, and a wedge was quickly driven between them and the other kingdoms, who had welcomed them with open arms. One day, the Arctic started a massacre of the Panthalassans and Demons in their waters, making many flee. Those who had not, died at the hands of the Arctic ended up requiring more supplies to fuel their rampage, but when they asked the North Atlantic for aid, the green kingdom refused, shutting them away for their 'nonsensical' mass killings.

The Antarctic, with a bond so close to the Arctic that the kingdom's people were angered by the refusal, had no choice but to re-open old wounds from the time of the Guardian Princesses. The kingdom of purple started war against the North Atlantic, and in the midst of the battle, got the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean caught in the crossfire.

The Indian Ocean tried their best to recoil from the war, while the kingdom of light blue joined forces with their northern counterparts against the southern-most kingdom. The Arctic Ocean eventually joined the war to lend support to their southern sisters-in-arms. As a result, when the war ended, the Atlantic's people held deep grudges against those of the Arctic and the Antarctic, a hatred so deep-seated that time could not wash it away.

The North Pacific, ever the peacemaker, though maybe just because Aqua Regina was begging for them to help the others see reason, requested for peace talks to settle the conflict without violence — well, without _further_ violence. Even as the kingdom of the pink mermaid tried — and failed — to settle the brewing war, the Indian Ocean was stirring up a storm.

Furious at being dragged into the middle of a war, the orange kingdom took up arms against the Antarctic. Unexpectedly, the South Pacific joined their orange counterparts in the war as well. Both kingdoms requested help from the Arctic, hoping that the northern-most counterpart to the southern-most kingdom could help against the purple kingdom, but to no avail, as the Arctic flatly turned them down, on the only grounds that the two kingdoms both accept Panthalassans and Demons in their society.

Unfortunately, the attempts on behalf of the North Pacific did nothing but worsen the condition of the impending war. The two halves of the Atlantic Ocean got involved in a full-scale war with the Antarctic Kingdom, with the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean caught in the crossfire, gladly joining forces with the Atlantic. As a result, the North Pacific, fearing the consequences of the war, retreated fully from it, residing in seclusion and choosing to remain neutral, not willing to lend support to any party that came for aid.

With no choice left, Aqua Regina had to intervene, stopping the war with her unfathomable power, and returning the situation to normal. The strained relationships between all of the kingdoms forced her to orchestrate peace talks, making the kingdoms sign treaties to maintain the barely there peace and ensure that wars would never happen again. Not during Lucia's reign, at least.

Not all was well and good after the peace was returned to the oceans. Everything had consequences, and Lucia was lucky to have even been able to stop the war in the first place.

The South Pacific rejected further Panthalassans and Demons from their society, straining the already tense relations with the North Pacific.

The Antarctic and the North Atlantic's relations became permanently strained, and the Arctic and Antarctic turned from merely hating the Panthalassans and Demons to straight out murderous, killing every one of them without care. However, the Atlantic kingdoms did just the reverse, opening their doors wide to those who sought refuge from the two kingdoms out of spite and not a little resentment.

The Indian Ocean returned to neutrality, but their welcome towards the Panthalassans and Demons dimmed, to the point of where it was total neutrality, as if no active encouragement of the acceptance of both races existed. Racism started festering, especially near the Indian-South Pacific border.

Only the North Pacific had suffered the least losses. The pink kingdom returned to mermaid society, though with a heavy wariness towards all factions. All were still welcomed, but they were always viewed with suspicion.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Aqua Regina paced the length of her throne room nervously, her staff gripped in hand. Her long blonde hair flowed in smooth waves that contrasted starkly to her panic and the discord within her mind. The young woman chewed on her lower lip, deeply worried. The situation now was bad. Very bad.

From behind, a voice cleared their throat, making the sound echo eerily in the empty throne room.

The blonde jumped, then turned around. Once she saw who it was, her blue eyes locked with a shadowy mist that filled the room, and her grip on the staff tightened. "Please," she started wearily, "I need more time. The War just ended barely two decades ago — you can't expect the Princesses to be able to deal with its aftermath, run a kingdom, and save the world at the same time, can you?" she begged.

A voice snorted from the mist, cold and serious. "We don't have any more time to give you, Ocean Queen," it stated coolly, the low, though clearly female voice sounding impatient. "Evil rises, and it is already choosing and corrupting its avatars."

The voice changed, rising in pitch and changing in tone, turning sassy. "Them Princesses won't be able to do nothing now. We've picked our choice o' the Champions this time."

Another change, with a soft, sweet tone, and the lightest voice of all three. "As is tradition, we've chosen seven champions in our name."

Lucia physically slumped, trying to argue, but finding no words to express it. "Very well," she muttered, defeated. "There is no choice now, is there?" she whispered to herself.

The voice changed to the first one again, and said one more thing, the mist gathering around the base of the powder blue gown, "If you truly wish for your Princesses to be of use, they had better get their act together soon."

Aqua Regina watched as the mist vanished, and shaking, she trudged back to her throne, slumping into her seat. "And so… it all starts…" she whispered, holding her head in her hands.

* * *

Yes, Lucia, so it starts.

Now, this is the real start for the story. The end has yet to be decided for our future heroes, so if you want to see a change in the plot, join us at the RP forum!


	2. Alignments: Chapter 1

Forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter, but here it is now. Every time a new character appears, I'll likely post a new one at the top of the page, just for convenience.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch manga, nor do I own the anime or the GBA games, of which belong to Hanamori Pink. However, as this is an OC-RP turned story, I do own a few characters. Others belong to their players as listed below:

Luna belongs to Yeelimso.

Shelia belongs to NeneKanerva.

Kazi belongs to 3rdNigtingale.

Lila belongs to Kry Chi.

Helen belongs to YuiKudo.

Finally, Jasmine belongs to me.

To anyone who's been on the RP, they know how long each episode gets, so I've split each episode into several different chapters, and each episode is now considered a story arc. Now here's the first chapter, the Alignment arc, Chapter 1, where the story _really_ begins. Can you spot the difference?

Enjoy the story.

* * *

A tall girl, slender but athletic in stature, and covered by a dark grey traveller's cloak strode through a local marketplace in the North Pacific, near the capital and its grand magenta and pink palace. The calls and haggling of the traders filled the water, loud and not in the least peaceful. Stalls were set up along two sides of the path, various traders, from mermaid to demon and back stood behind their stalls.

Jasmine made her pace quick as she walked through the marketplace, a bag slung over her shoulder and hidden from sight under the dark cloak. Her dark blue, high-collared shirt and dark slacks were partially obscured by the cloak as she walked, hands in the pockets of her slacks as she continued her path through the marketplace.

The mercenary girl — who wasn't even older than sixteen — was heading to the Indian Ocean for a job offer after she headed home to pack, and the job would likely take up a week before she could return, provided that target hadn't already fled elsewhere. With a minor frown, the girl purchased some foodstuff from a stall and left through the other side.

After all, no job would wait for a dawdling mercenary.

As the young Panthalassan walked past a route that led further into the heart of the gleaming capital city, she paused, one hand in the pocket of her slacks, the other holding onto her bag, as she looked at the grand pink castle in the distance. Annoyed by the light, the mercenary scoffed, continuing on her way back to her home.

She had much better things to do than to think about foolish mermaids.

Jasmine was walking on a path to her home when she heard a sharp voice complain, "What an utter bore." A bit startled, as she could recognize the cold, biting tone of another experienced mercenary, the Panthalassan took a detour from her way home, cautiously making her way towards the voice.

In a clearing not too far from the path, there was a lone bench, crafted painstakingly out of stone. On that bench, was a demon. The black-haired girl could tell that the demon was not a normal one though, and carefully stood at the entrance to the clearing. Unexpectedly, a rush of strange power slammed right into her, making her lose her breath for a moment. Gasping sharply, the Panthalassan took a step back.

The demon was pale-skinned, with wild, untamed orange hair that reached her shoulders. Large red fins poked out from her hair where ears should be. Her eyes were a sharp, unusual yellow, with slit pupils, and heavy makeup the colour of her fins was applied to her upper lids and not a little on the bottom of her eyes, drawing out to just above her cheeks. She had striking red lipstick on, the same colour as her fins. A red horn was placed on her forehead, and a slender black tail with a grey and black microphone dangled behind her, slowly swishing in the water.

She wore an outfit composed of black and red, looking inspired by the 'punk-rock' fashion trend. A black choker was around her neck, and over a red crop top that bared her midriff, she wore a black shirt with torn up sleeves, one of the shoulders styled off the shoulder. Black, spiked bracelets were around each wrist. She wore dark, extremely short jean shorts, with a slanted black studded belt slung diagonally around her waist. Her boots were thigh high black leather with red laces and high heels, and dark leather straps with buckles wrapped around the top and the ankle.

The demon was slowly drumming her fingers, tapping her sharp claws on the stone at her side, creating a slow 'clack clack' as each point of the claws hit the stone. "Ugh…" she griped, scowling. "Why can't sssomething — anything — happen to eassse thisss boredom?"

The steady clacking that came from the bench was irritating the Panthalassan's sensitive hearing, and Jasmine frowned deeply. Her left hand was still in her pocket, and her right holding onto her bag as she walked into the demon's line of sight. Dark blue eyes stared at the demon with in a shrewd matter, holding an intensity that was rare to see. "Hey," she said quietly, her voice cool, collected.

The demon gave her a glance, yellow eyes with slit-pupils narrowing as she hissed, sharp fangs exposed. "What isss it?" she asked, frowning. The audible hiss in her tone was less of her lisp, but more of a warning. Sharp claws were raised from the stone surface, the large fins bristling as she scowled. "You got a problem withh me or what?" It came across as harsh. Very harsh.

Jasmine didn't react to the harsh tone — well, not visibly, at least. The mercenary was more than used to that kind of tone from her, so-to-speak, 'employers', though she did remain irritated. "I cannot quite put a finger on it," she replied in a low tone, her voice just loud enough to carry over the clearing to the demon, but not too loud, "but there is something, not quite…" The Panthalassan trailed off, pausing a bit to think over her choice of words, _"normal_ about you."

The lisp she had heard was not exactly odd, nor was it rare, but from the demon's cool accent, she could quite clearly tell that the orange-haired demon was most probably native to the Northern Atlantic, the Western North Atlantic, more accurately.

The demon's fins flared up to their full size, as she had learnt once before, meaning either bewilderment or hostility. Jasmine guessed that it was a mixture of both, for what happens when a mysterious girl walks up to you, simply addresses you, and implies that you're weird?

The demon paused then, fins slowly fluttering as she cocked her head. "Actually, no," she mused, her lisp lightening slightly as she pronounced the first word, "Well, I hear that pretty much all the time, and I know why, but I doubt you would. That asside, you don't look like an ordinary civilian either. Am I right, or am I right?" she asked, yellow eyes fixated on Jasmine as the Panthalassan continued to watch her.

"Ssides." A small, barely there smirk lifted the corner of her lips, once more exposing sharp fangs. "I do know a fighter when I see one."

Jasmine shrugged, making her hood fall down around her neck and exposing her black hair. "Yes," she replied simply, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Perhaps a fighter is as good as a word to describe me, if nothing else. I know fully well how to defend myself and how to make sure others don't injure me in return."

Narrowing her dark blue eyes at the demon, she frowned deeply. "I can… feel something from you. Like… like a sort of power." Her eyes flicked away from the red-finned demon at the sound of someone swinging open a door. Blue irises narrowing, the mercenary turned to keep her gaze on the white-haired mermaid that had just left a local restaurant. Jasmine couldn't help raising a brow in surprise.

A mermaid with white hair? Not only that, but a white tail as well?

The mermaid had long, flowing hair, as was expected, with white bangs over her left eye, and a white braid over her right shoulder. The mermaid looked to be around her mid-to-late teens, perhaps Jasmine's age, though the Panthalassan could not say for sure. A bag woven from seaweed fibres was in her hand, and seeing that she had come out from the restaurant with it in hand, and that it wasn't a take-away bag, Jasmine could only assume that she was an employee out for groceries.

The mermaid paused as she passed them, dark eyes drifting onto them before she shrugged carelessly, as if she was saying 'I don't care what you're doing here'. The mermaid swam off in the direction of the nearby grocery shop, dark eyes avoiding them.

Jasmine narrowed her blue eyes. "I can feel it again," she murmured to herself. There it was — the same strange surge of power she could feel from the demon. Mildly frustrated, the dark-haired Panthalassan jerked her gaze away, brow furrowed together. "Yes…" she echoed. "It's… strange."

The demon raised a brow, her yellow eyes with slit pupils trailing after the mermaid that swam past them. "A power, huh?" The girl smirked. "I mean, I have plenty. But it's not like people can just sense it from me. There iss something about you too, like I ssaid." She shrugged her shoulders, pursing her lipstick-covered lips to the side. "I wouldn't know. I ussually catch attenttion for different reassonss." Her lisp was becoming annoying.

The mermaid stopped in her tracks, then turned to them, like she had heard something strange. Dark, hollow eyes were swept in their direction before the mermaid finally swam off, leaving the Panthalassan's field of vision — hopefully for good.

Briefly, as the dark eyes of the mermaid had turned to them, Jasmine had met her cold gaze with one of her own. Cold, hollow blankness met sharp, biting coldness for just a second before the mermaid had swum away. Clearing her throat, the Panthalassan looked back at the demon and nodded absently. "Of course you would," she muttered, "you're a demon, for goodness sake. That's bound to draw some stares. The Northern Pacific's people don't exactly _like_ foreigners, after all."

Jasmine snorted, glancing up into the darkened sea above them. A shiver ran down her spine — one that she couldn't properly explain. After a quick beat, she realized what it was, and frowned deeply. "I feel uneasy," she murmured. "The seas are acting strange. Almost… unsettled."

An irritated hiss came from around the corner, and slowly, the white hair of the earlier mermaid came into view. Jasmine was not surprised when she appeared to be empty-handed — most of the stores were closed at this ungodly hour anyway. She rolled her dark eyes. "I'm surprised she didn't already know it was shut," she muttered. "Looks like a native here to me."

The mermaid slowly swam back along the path, passing the two in the clearing. Her dark eyes drifted over the two as she slowed to a stop, not moving in the centre of the opening to the clearing. Her face, though half-covered by her hair, was impassive, not showing a hint of emotion.

The Panthalassan idly wondered if all mermaids were like that, or if it was just the people she met. She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her eyes on the mermaid. Her stare intensified a bit, hoping to maybe see a reaction from the blank-faced mermaid, but to no avail. "Hey," she finally said, raising her voice enough so that the white-haired mermaid could hear her.

 _Come over here,_ she wanted to say, but sounded odd, too… familiar, for a stranger. Instead, she tried to convey what she wanted to say through her eyes. She had never had the best body language reading skills, though, so she had probably failed. But she did know that the North Pacific mermaids were wary of outsiders.

Maybe that was why the mermaid was keeping her distance?

"We're not going to hurt you, kid," Jasmine said, though she was pretty sure she was around the same age as the mermaid.

From the corner of her eye, Jasmine saw the demon watch, lacing her fingers together. It wasn't clear on her face, but the Panthalassan could see the unease in the demon's yellow irises. She was in agreement with her earlier statement. Good. At least she wasn't going crazy.

The mermaid turned sharply at them. "Hurt me? It'll be a wonder to see if you can do that." She glared heatedly at them, then smirked. "Interesting duo, I see. A Panthalassan and a demon?" Her glare intensified. "What fun," she deadpanned.

Jasmine was not amused by her tongue. Dryly, she shot back, "And you can't seem to comprehend that stores don't usually open this late," she retorted. The mermaid was _irritating!_ "Was that also an invitation, kid?" the mercenary asked sharply, her eyes narrowing and her voice turning icy. Her nails slowly dug into her palm, and the mercenary slowly scolded herself to regulate her breathing and reign her temper back in.

 _Calm down!_ she scolded herself mentally. _Stop letting her rile you up!_ Finally, she said, "You can feel it too. That surge of unusual power when we're near. Don't lie to me."

The mermaid snorted, turning away. "Ha! You can't control your temper, old lady!" She looked up at the darkened ocean with an impassive face, expressionless, and spoke in a flat monotone, "Yes, I feel it. Amazing that you can too."

Jasmine's eye twitched, and her fist tightened. "Why you little —" She had to cut herself off before she lost her temper. Seething, the Panthalassan marched right up to the mermaid and glared at the white-haired girl coldly. Her taller stature gave her a height advantage, and she stared down at the mermaid with ease. Her blue eyes were narrowed, vision tinted a bit blue, even though her dark hair was casting shadows over her face.

"Listen here, _kid,"_ she spat. "I've dealt with bigger and badder creeps that could kill you easily. You're not a threat." Jasmine was physically capable of taking the mermaid out, of course, but the Panthalassan had never actually killed a person straight out without reason before. She had indirectly caused deaths, like landing people into comas that they'd never wake from and so on, but never directly carried out a homicide.

This mermaid didn't have to know that, though.

Jasmine leant a little closer, before a smirk curled her lips, and the Panthalassan pulled back, hoping her intimidation tactic had worked while not saying anything more. "So, it's the three of us, then," she noted dryly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the demon grin widely, looking… impressed? There was definitely an approving glint in the bright yellow eyes of the fanged girl, at least, and the demon leant back on the bench, propping herself up with her hands. "What a coincidence for us to end up here and feel this power," the orange-haired demon finally spoke after a beat. "You know, is there something bigger involved?" she asked. "I wouldn't even be surprised at this point."

Curiously enough, the demon's lisp was no longer grating on Jasmine's nerves. She harrumphed. "There's always something larger at work," she muttered with a frown. "Three seems like an odd number, though," she pointed out, a mild frown on her face. "The tradition has always been seven for the marine world. I get the feeling that we're not the only ones."

The white-haired mermaid smiled eerily and nodded. "The three of us, at the very least." She turned to Jasmine, dark eyes trying to bore into the Panthalassan. "I don't mind you taking me out. It doesn't mean I mind anything about my life." She seemed on guard, narrowed eyes still on Jasmine.

Jasmine stared at the mermaid briefly with a scrutinizing gaze. The mermaid was odd — especially that hair. No mermaid had naturally white hair like that, after all. But the Panthalassan didn't ask. She didn't pry — she'd respect the mermaid's privacy. "I suppose we've gone long enough without names," she muttered, raising her voice just loud enough to be heard. "Jasmine," she said sharply.

"Mm, right." The demon chuckled. "Shelia. Redfin." She pointed at her wide ear fins and flashed a fanged, playful grin at them. "And you?" She turned a curious gaze onto the mermaid.

"Luna." Was the simple response from the white-haired mermaid.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

It was just her way home, after all.

Helen couldn't even _begin_ to understand why these three girls were all but conveniently blocking her path. A first thought urged the petite blonde mermaid to just pass through and ask the three girls of each of the marine species to make way, but two of the odd trio looked very menacing, one with sharp fangs and claws, and the other, tall and athletic in stature, holding a menacing pose. She couldn't just go up and say 'make way'!

"This is ridiculous," the pink-tailed mermaid growled lowly, questioning herself for not acting impulsively when there was a need of it. Smacking her forehead for even thinking that, the wavy-haired blonde reminded herself that she was taking that particular path because she had acted impulsively and left home. She shouldn't be encouraging a trait of hers that only brought further problems.

From an outsider's point of view, the slight mermaid was in need of medical treatment, the psychological kind, to be more specific. She was squirming in place, making a lot of strange facial expressions, and even talking out loud to herself. Yes, without a doubt, she was in need of psychological help.

The tall, black-haired girl — most probably a Panthalassan, considering the conspicuous lack of demon features — turned around, dark blue eyes instantly landing on Helen. Her blue eyes suddenly widened, and the girl stepped back, instantly looking on her guard and almost defensive. After a short beat, she started walking over, past the white-haired mermaid in front of Helen, and clapped her hand firmly onto Helen's shoulder. "Hey kid," she started in a voice that had a light Eastern North Atlantic accent, "you al—"

Instantly, the Panthalassan cut herself off with a sharp hiss of pain, wrenching herself away from Helen, pressing her right hand to the inside of her left elbow.

The orange-haired demon, who looked as if she was ready to step over to take a closer look at the blonde pink mermaid, quickly flinched away from Helen. "What the fuck?!" Sharp yellow eyes with slit pupils widened as she rushed over to the Panthalassan, though she kept her hands well away from the black-haired girl. "You okay?" There was an audible lisp from her, but Helen didn't mind it.

Flinching, the Panthalassan girl peeled her hand away from her arm, slowly flexing her left hand's fingers. She winced sharply, slowly getting onto her feet, drawing short, shallow breaths as she forced out a short, breathless, "I-I'm fine." She staggered a bit, raising her left arm, presumably to see what had happened.

Then, her eyes narrowed, the dark blue irises turning even darker as she glared at her arm. "That… was _not_ normal."

For the first time in a long while, Helen was honestly scared. She had been minding her own business, not quietly, granted, but she had just been minding her own business and trying to keep away from the trio, who why did the Panthalassan just march up to her?

Furthermore, what was going on? Last time she checked, mermaids didn't have the power of a jellyfish, so why did the Panthalassan act like she had just been stung after barely touching her? Questions invaded her mind, screwing up her thoughts, and there was no answers that could be seen.

"A-are you… okay?" The blonde asked cautiously.

The Panthalassan drew in a sharp breath. "I'm okay." Her blue gaze sharp and unrelenting, she concluded with a dry and deadpan, "Now I'm definitely sure that there's a larger power at hand. I don't usually get black tattoos on my skin when I touch someone." Her hand removed itself from covering the inside of her arm, revealing a mark, written in slender, cursive writing that read 'First'. Placed just near the crook of her elbow, it looked very much like a tattoo. "I'm not sure that this is supposed to be normal either." Sarcasm dripped from her tone.

Helen nodded, not really letting anything the dark-haired girl said enter her thoughts. She tried to compose herself — this wasn't the time to panic or keep wondering why these three gave her a bad vibe. _No, not a bad vibe,_ she corrected herself, _they're powerful, but in a scary way._

Out of the corner of her blue eyes, she saw the demon lean closer to the Panthalassan, apparently trying to inspect the strange mark. "Oh my fucking—" Her clawed hand moved to the strange mark, and once the tip of the claw scraped across the mark, she recoiled as well, letting out a startled noise and a few more, rather vulgar curse words, hands clutching her collarbone before pulling away.

A mark had appeared on her as well — bloody red and in a sharp, pointed scrawl. 'Third', it read. "Damn," the demon said. "What's that say?" She tried to lean in to see the writing, bending her head at a slightly unnatural angle.

Fully regaining her normal composure, the mermaid nodded, satisfied with her conclusion. "Will something happen if I touch you?" she asked, her curiosity taking over her. Lifting her hand, the blonde mermaid waited for the Panthalassan girl to give her permission — hey, even she could be polite when she wanted to!

"Go ahead," the Panthalassan muttered tiredly. She extended her hand to the mermaid, dark blue eyes slowly closing as she winced a bit, her other hand gently pressing on the strange mark. Her head tilted back and her dark eyes opened, landing on the demon. "Third," she read out tiredly amidst a string of curse words.

Helen gave a short nod as she reached out, knowing that it was going to hurt from the reaction that the other two had. Inhaling in, she grasped the Panthalassan girl's outstretched hand, feeling immediately as though she was bathing with a hundred jellyfish. Hurting was an understatement, apparently.

Super-charged bolts of lightning shot down her body, from the top of her blonde head to the end of her cerise tail, rushing through her form until it concentrated in a certain spot. "W-wow!" she yelped out, letting go of the proffered hand at once. She grabbed her burning shoulder — the right one — scratching and rotating the joint a bit to get it back into shape, and sure enough, once she pulled her hand away, she could make out blocky writing on the shoulder, colored reddish-pink.

'Sixth', it read, like the other two, taking the form of an ordinal number. The mermaid craned her neck to try and see it better. It gave her a slightly better view of the mark, but she still couldn't fully make out the letters. "Is this written wrong?" she wondered out loud.

The demon was bewildered, large red ear fins perked up and alert. "First… Third… Sixth… Where are the rest and how many are there?" she spoke out loud, drawing out her 's' as she hissed. "What the hell does this even mean? Powers, marks, numbers, whatever this nonsense is, I'm pretty sure it can't be any good."

The Panthalassan glanced from her mark, to the demon's collarbone, then to Helen's shoulder. "Probably not," she said with a shrug, hand still covering the mark on her arm. "Someone tell me what just happened." She sighed, shaking her head in what seemed to be dismay. "Something's up with the sea, and I'm not sure I like it. But to answer your question, Shelia, I'm betting that it's seven."

So Shelia was the demon's name.

"It's like we're the chosen people to save the world or something." Helen was most certainly joking, but the situation was, unfortunately, pointing right in that direction. The mermaid went a bit pale at the thought of having to save others. It wasn't that she had anything against the world — no, quite the opposite, actually — Helen just didn't feel up to risking her life for the sake of others when she couldn't even make her mother happy. "Tell me this is a joke," she pleaded. _I just want to go home…_

The Panthalassan girl gave each of them a strange look, resting a particularly sharp gaze on Helen before moving on. "The last thing I want to do is to help those damn mermaids," she muttered lowly, voice filled with cold resentment. "It's their fault my parents are dead." Her voice was just so… bitter as she spoke. She ran a hand through her dark hair and sighed heavily. "I'd like to believe that it's a joke too, kid, but all this happening just indicates that something's up."

"Fates…" Helen muttered, frowning, "you picked the wrong person to mess with." Even the stubborn mermaid could make a good threat when she was really into it. She wouldn't let the so-called 'Fates' decide what was to be of her life — she already had enough things to worry about!

Whoever had supposedly picked her for the job, they had chosen the wrong person in every aspect — she didn't even possess the normal powers that mermaids had. How was she supposed to be fighting evil? "Why didn't they pick the Mermaid Princesses? This is their duty, isn't it?" The mermaid then realized she was trying to reason with a person that wasn't even there.

The Panthalassan coughed, poorly disguising a mutter of 'insanity'. "That's a question I'd like to know the answer to as well," she voiced out loud, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe Aqua Regina's finally taken it too far and she's decided they need coddling." Mockingly, the tall girl sneered at that, her bitter tone dripping with resentment and well-suppressed rage.

The blonde mermaid eyed the Panthalassan, wondering if she heard that right. "You don't like mermaids, do you?" she asked, though the answer to that question was all too obvious, yet at the same time, it wasn't. In her mind, if you hated something, you would stay far away from it, but the Panthalassan had even voluntarily allowed her to have contact with her. It sounded too strange to be true, but still…

Helen just couldn't understand people sometimes. It wasn't much of a surprise — she wasn't a people-person, after all.

The Panthalassan's eyes narrowed. "The South Pacific mermaids were the reason my father died," she stated quite bluntly. "I don't like mermaids in general, but I do work for them from time to time. Just goes to show that if you want to survive in a society like this one, you need to bite your tongue and hold in a temper."

"Hmm…" Helen mused. "I'd never go that far," she commented, clicking her tongue in annoyance when she let what she truly thought slip out. She wasn't a fan of sharing personal information during a first meeting, not even a second, or third meeting, for what it was worth. It took quite some time for her to come out.

The new voice that sounded out made the mermaid jump physically. "I wouldn't question what Her Majesty Aqua Regina decides to do," the smooth, masculine voice stated from behind them.

A man walked up to them — another Panthalassan, Helen dimly realized — wearing a black outfit with a strange, golden cross-like symbol on the back of his long-sleeved coat. He had shoulder-length white-hair — not unusual, considering he was a Panthalassan — and purple eyes. The strangest thing was the silver staff he was holding and the white mask he wore over his face, obscuring the top half of his face.

The dark-haired girl raised a thin brow. "What do you want?" she asked sharply, dark blue eyes narrowed. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she scowled. "You're on of the nobles," she finally stated. "I didn't know that we served the Ocean Queen now." Sarcasm absolutely dripped her tone as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Helen eyes the newcomer suspiciously. A group was beginning to form now. Were the Fates seriously trying to pull a bunch of random people together in the middle of the street? This was just ridiculous! The blonde mermaid couldn't contain the need to roll her blue eyes.

"Perhaps you do not," the masked man replied, "but I've watched our people face their fall. I witnessed the atrocities they committed while trying to make the seven seas their own. I was spared from the aftermath and offered a chance at redemption, and thus, I serve the one that gave me that chance." He didn't look very concerned about the hostility that the tall girl radiated.

The girl growled, eyes narrowed. "Then you can go your way," she snapped, "and we can go ours." Unexpectedly, a sardonic smile crossed her face and she shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "Calm," she repeated to herself, like it was some kind of strange mantra. She looked around, blue eyes resting on each person in the gathered 'group'.

"Great," she deadpanned. "A group of strangers, all gathering in the middle of the street." The Panthalassan girl rolled her eyes, snorting. "The Fates sure do have a funny sense of humor."

"At least the gathering isn't in a dark dungeon," Helen mused aloud, playing around with her tail to see if she could balance on the end. "I hear those are quite popular." Failing her task, she simply started to swim around. Apparently, she was the type of person that couldn't stand still for even a second.

The Panthalassan girl snorted, sounding mildly amused. "You have quite the sense of humor too, don't you, kid?"

The blonde raised a brow, blinking. "I was being serious." Jokes were not her forte, and she tried to steer far away from the topic. Was the dungeon thing a joke? Now that she thought about it, it really _did_ sound like it was one.

If she had been focusing on the others instead of wondering about the joke, Helen would've heard the man chuckle and saw him smile a bit.

The dark-haired girl raised a brow at the mermaid. "Oh?" Rolling her dark blue eyes, she blew a strand of black hair out of her eyes. "Distractions aside, anyone have any idea about this?" Her finger tapped the black mark on the inside of her elbow.

Helen observed the mark, her sky blue eyes turning incredibly serious for once. "None," she answered, shaking her head.

The man spoke up again. "I should be going. Perhaps we'll meet again." Tapping the end of his staff on the ground, he vanished.

"That was rude of him." Helen huffed. "He didn't even —"

"Watch out!"

Hearing a shout coming from her back, Helen yelped and swam out of the way, mentally deciding to just leave and go home. Everyone was better off for themselves, anyway.

* * *

Read, review, and give constructive criticism.


	3. Alignments: Chapter 2

Welcome back to Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch, Alignments: Chapter 2! This chapter moves us closer to the reason as to why our heroes have been gathered.

Enjoy the story.

* * *

"Whoa! Steady!" Lila shouted, trying to balance herself. The young, black-haired girl found swimming easy compared to the kids that were in her neighborhood, but she was absolutely terrible at speed control. Not surprising, considering she was totally new to it and everything. The short girl saw a large pink castle in the distance and wondered to herself how in the world did people miss the construction on the ocean floor — it was enormous!

Starting to swim towards it with a new burst of speed, the young girl slammed into a current that threw her off course. "Ah!" she yelped. The force of the current hurtled her towards the ocean floor, where she could see about four creatures standing there. Lila winced, bracing herself for a rough impact. "Watch out!"

One of the four, a tall, black-haired girl wearing a dark cloak, snapped her head up and her hand shot out, instantly grabbing the tan girl by the shoulder as the younger of the two shot past, miraculously steadying the child. "The hell, kid?" she demanded in a sharp tone that seemed to have a light touch of a British accent.

The little twelve-year-old was whirred around to face the pale girl in the cloak. Immediately, Lila bowed her head a little. "I'm sorry!" she apologized.

"Casually meeting isn't even an option anymore?" A strawberry blonde mermaid with a reddish-pink tail asked, raising a brow. She sounded like she was joking, but the dry expression on her face made Lila unsure on whether it was meant as a joke or not. The mermaid swam over to the group, sighing.

The dark-haired girl examined Lila briefly, frowning. "You're right," she drawled in a deadpan tone, probably to the mermaid. "Something's up. Kid, touch my hand."

Lila tilted her head to the side curiously. Was the tall girl asking for a handshake? Whatever the case, the young girl smile and obliged, reaching out to touch the other. "Okay — ouch!" Instantly, the young girl flinched, pulling back as she felt like an ant bit her just under her waist — an ant that had a super-painful bite, that is. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch," she repeated, lifting up the hem of her light blue blouse, trying to turn her head and body to see what had bit her, but she couldn't see anything. "Does anyone have a mirror?"

The taller black-haired girl exhaled slowly. "Yep. Another one." She circled around Lila, and blue eyes briefly made contact with the young girl's. "Fifth," she read out loud, and promptly groaned. "Oh yes. Wonderful," she griped in a cut and dry tone. "Now I have to babysit a child."

"Fifth?" Lila asked curiously. There was a word on her back? Turning as far as she could, she managed to catch a glimpse of the 'F' in icy-blue, looping writing. "Oh… What does that mean?"

"Means that you're one of us or something like that, apparently," the black-haired girl replied, frowning. "Here." She extended her left arm to Lila, exposing a black mark in a flowing script with clarity.

"First?" Lila read. "Oh, it looks pretty." The short girl stared at the strange mark. It really did look pretty.

The taller girl frowned. "Uh… thanks?" It sounded much like a question instead of an answer. Kneeling down, the other girl looked Lila in the eye and asked, "Where are your parents, kid? You don't look like you're supposed to be out and about without adult supervision."

Lila shook her head. "Oh, I'm actually not from the sea," the girl said brightly. "I lived up on the continent but my dad had to move away, so he told me to come here." She noticed how the taller girl had knelt down to her level. She was a good person — Lila could tell. "I'm sorry for crashing into you."

The taller girl shrugged. "It's fine, kid, and you didn't crash into me. I grabbed you before you could hit me." She frowned. "You're Panthalassan?" she asked, a brow raised.

Lila tilted her head to the side. Panthalassan? She didn't know what that meant, though she had a small inkling of what exactly a Panthalassan could be from what her mother had told her before she vanished. But still, she wasn't a Panthalassan — whatever it was, anyway.

Maybe she should tell the girl what she was? After all, they were fellow creatures that could breathe under the sea, right? But both her parents had told her to be extra careful about things like this. "Well, I'm half-human, and half… um, angel?" Lila replied, brow furrowing. She had forgotten what the species was called, but if they had wings, why not?

The girl froze in her place. "Can-can you repeat that, kid?" she asked warily. "An…gel?" There was disbelief in her eyes, though it was joined with a certain sense of understanding.

"Half-human and half… uhh… I know it started with 'An', but I can't remember…" As soon as she finished saying that, the memory of her mother came to her. "Oh! That's right! Half-human and half-Ancient!" Lila smiled widely.

The half-Ancient girl suddenly remembered something. Whoops. "I forgot to say," she said, waving. "Hello. My name's Lila."

The dark-haired girl blinked once, twice, and then one more time. She looked somewhat surprised and finally, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm Jasmine," she finally replied cautiously. Slowly, the dark-haired girl stood up, looking stunned. "You're an Ancient," she repeated slowly, not seeming to be able to understand something. "An… Ancient."

"Hi Jasmine," Lila said brightly. "Yeah, I am." Aw man, Lila was running out of things to say. This conversation was definitely going to end awkwardly. Why was it so hard to talk to people sometimes?

"One of your parents… was an Ancient," the now-identified Jasmine continued slowly, staring at Lila strangely, like she had grown a second head or something. "And you're also half-human." The look in her eyes just all but screamed 'insanity'.

Lila nodded patiently. "Yes." What was so hard to understand? She was half-human, half-Ancient. What was so odd? "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at Jasmine with a frown.

Jasmine folded her arms over her chest. "Kid, you do know that the Ancient line was wiped out before Aqua Regina was even ascended, right?"

"What?" Lila giggled at the absurdity of it. "That's not true." Of course it wasn't — the young girl remembered her mother going out to meet some other friends that were just like her.

Jasmine's brow furrowed together. "Year 2004," she recited. "The last known Ancient, their ruler Mikeru, was learnt by the Mermaid Princesses to be nothing more than a fossil and was eventually defeated, returning to his fellows elsewhere. The Ancient lineage was proclaimed extinct, and no more Ancients were recorded to ever exist since." She gave Lila a pointed look and sighed. "I don't like the sound of this, but I need proof that you're telling the truth, and the Ancients have really returned to the world." After a beat, she sighed and said, "Wings."

Lila took a breath in. It wasn't easy, just doing something that she'd been taught not to do for almost all her life. But building trust was not always easy, she remembered. Lila exhaled, and she released the grip on her wings, letting them unravel in the water. It felt kind of funny in the sea, the cold water chilling but the feeling of letting her wings free being warm at the same time. It was so… relaxing.

Jasmine gaped at her. "So it's true," the tall girl breathed out. "Amazing." She took a step forward, and then back once more, looking not a little awestruck. "Beautiful." Exhaling slowly, Jasmine began to pace, slowly muttering to herself under her breath and shaking her head. She looked up, and suddenly, she scowled, eyes narrowing. "What are you still doing here?" she snapped, frowning.

The orange-haired girl with the red fins was staring at her with wide yellow eyes. There was a snarl of disgust on her face, and she held a wary look on her face. At Jasmine's words, she turned to where the other girl was looking and frowned. "What the hell is your problem?" She scoffed, a thick lisp in her tone.

"I wasn't aware that I had to answer to you. I simply wish to observe things, and am merely intrigued at the child with the wings." A man's voice sounded out.

Before Lila could see anything, Jasmine stood in front of her and held her dark grey cloak out in front of her. "As much as I hate to admit it, the kid's apparently one of us." The older girl's voice was sharp and cold. "Answer to us or not, you should stay away from her."

"When did I say I would mean her any harm?" the man asked again. "I simply am curious, and I have never seen one like her."

The pink-tailed mermaid was watching from the edge of the group, quietly fidgeting with her fingers. She was frowning — maybe thinking about something? Lila wasn't sure.

Jasmine snorted. "Oh, what's this? You don't know what she is?" she shot back. "Ever heard of the Ancients, Mask-Face?"

"As a matter of fact, no. I've been trying to keep out of the limelight by living in the human world. I'm afraid I don't know much about things beyond what happens in the seas." His voice faltered a bit. "It's the least I could do to make up for what our kind has done before."

Briefly, Jasmine glanced back at Lila, her dark blue eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed, with what looked like confusion written all over her face. "What the…" she muttered in a low tone. Looking back in front, she spoke up again, "You mentioned redemption earlier? What did you mean by that?" Her voice was tinged with curiosity, more so than harshness.

"You are aware of our people's history," the man stated, voice soft, far off, like he was remembering something. "The attempt at conquering the seven seas resulted in the previous Ocean Queen taking action and destroying our kingdom. I was… opposed to the path the elders chose to take when they led our once-great clan to war, and as such, Aqua Regina spared me from the destruction."

Jasmine's arm slowly lowered, and with it, her cloak fell as well. The girl's brow was furrowed, and there was a mild understanding in her eyes, though considering the masked man said 'our', Lila concluded that he and Jasmine were of the same species, and the taller girl probably knew whatever he was talking about.

"After the war ended, I exiled myself to the human world to live away from the remains of my home. It… was my way of atoning for what our kind had done." His hand slowly closed into a fist, and Lila watched from behind Jasmine as the man looked away. "Perhaps by helping to protect this world that our people tried to destroy, I can lift the weight of guilt from my soul."

Lila just watched the exchange curiously, slowly hiding her wings again as she looked on from behind Jasmine. She didn't understand half of what was going on, but from what she had heard, the small Ancient girl deduced that some kind of big-scale war had occurred before.

Jasmine shared a glance with the yellow-eyed girl with the fins. "Trying to save the world?" she asked carefully, her voice filled with skepticism.

The orange-haired girl scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Your people and mine share a lot of our history. Being fucked over by a damn tyrant of an ocean goddess, that is. As if my kind hadn't been doomed to lurk in the depths too for the crimes of a few," she muttered, huffing. "Whatever. There's something strange going on, and it just might have to do with all this that we've been blabbering about. No time for damned poetic justice!"

Jasmine snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. Rubbing her temples, the girl looked back at the mermaid. "Not all of us are willing to lay our lives down for this world like you are," she muttered dryly. She bit down on her lower lip and sighed, turning to the man once more. "What do you know about this?" she asked, straight to the point and sounding completely blunt.

The masked man sighed. "Perhaps you're right, and we should address why we are all gathered here like this. I occasionally make trips into the ocean, but I try not to stray too far from land, nor approach so close to the mermaid kingdoms. In this situation… I was simply drawn here by the tides and the strange surges of power brought by the water," he concluded.

Jasmine looked around, counting silently. "Six," she finally announced, frowning. "Is it just me, or does someone think that this number is ridiculous?" The girl's brow furrowed. "The number doesn't explain that power."

The man nodded in agreement. "As a number, six holds no special significance," he noted. "However, if there was a seventh to join us…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"A damn rag-tag gathering of seven people like this would be something that can't be fucking ignored," the orange-haired girl in the punk clothes finished up dryly.

"I could tell, Shelia," Jasmine drawled, rolling her eyes. "Seven princesses, seven pearls, seven kingdoms. Seven is an omen — a bad one."

"Perhaps we should move to a different location?" the man suggested.

Lila looked curiously around. "I support that," she voiced shyly.

Jasmine looked around, raising a brow at the other three. She sighed and said, "Well?"

Shelia — the orange-haired girl — nodded. "Well, yeah! Get the hell outta here before every single person in this damned kingdom is found to be part of some divine plot or whatever. 'Sides, it's a little suspicious to see a random group like this chatting out on the street, huh?"

Jasmine sighed. "My house is down the street," she said reluctantly. "It's a little Spartan, but I suppose it can fit all of us."

"My home is down this street as well," the mermaid piped up.

"You're intending on heading home as well, I presume, blondie?" Jasmine asked, looking at the pink-tailed mermaid as the black-haired girl raised a brow questioningly.

The mermaid paused, looking down at her tail as she fidgeted. Finally, she sighed and said, "I hope you have edible food in your house."

Jasmine chuckled with a small nod. "There's some food stock in the kitchens," she replied calmly. "You may need to cook for yourself, though. I am quite frankly, a horrible cook."

The mermaid tilted her head to the side, and Lila watched on in curiosity. "How bad?" She questioned, blinking.

"I…" The corner of Jasmine's lips lifted into a sardonic smirk. "…burn water."

"…what?" Lila gaped, completely taken by surprise. Did the underwater population somehow manage to circumvent physics? She was about ninety percent sure that that wasn't supposed to be possible.

The blonde's light blue eyes widened. "My mother… can't even do that…" Lila heard her mutter. As the mermaid looked up, she frowned deeply at Jasmine. "Don't ever cook again!" she all but demanded, voice sounding panicked.

Shelia had been looking on with confusion until she blinked. "Oh yeah, you guys need to cook your food."

Jasmine chuckled at the tone the orange-haired girl took and held her hands up in mock surrender to the mermaid. "Generally, I avoid cooking anyway," she pointed out.

The mermaid with the pink tail just sighed, rubbing her temples as she shook her head.

The white-haired other mermaid merely glanced at the blonde with a cold, calculating look. "You haven't given us a name yet." Her voice was dry, flat, and completely emotionless.

The blonde looked a bit spooked by her, inhaling sharply as she backed up a bit. "The name's Helen," she answered, a small, somewhat forced smile on her features. Lila decided that she looked better with the smile on.

Jasmine raised a brow at the white-haired mermaid. "Lay off Helen, Luna," the taller girl said with a sigh. "She's terrified as it is."

The white-haired mermaid — Luna — nodded curtly. With a dispassionate shrug, she turned around to leave, but paused and glanced back over her shoulder at the group. "Also, I'm going home."

"Erm… is that what you call a robot?" Helen wondered out loud, putting a hand to a chin and assuming a position that Lila thought was considerably similar to the French sculpture — what was it called again? The Thinker?

Jasmine simply shrugged, glancing back at the others in the group. Her eyes fell on Lila and she paused. "I suppose, I think?" She frowned. "I've never seen a mermaid like that before." Her dark blue eyes followed Luna for a while before she sighed and turned back to Lila and Helen. "Then again, that's a human invention, and I don't usually leave the water too much. I've been in land before, but not too much."

"Call me whatever you want." Luna's unfeeling voice pierced through the conversation. "I'm hungry and I'm going home. I suggest that you all do the same." The mermaid took off, swimming into the distance, and her white tail slowly blended into the dark water.

Helen nodded with a sigh. She paused, looking around, then after Luna again. "Hey… are we going to stand around here all day? Night, I mean," she amended. Her light blue eyes scanned the group once by one before she looked back at the mermaid in the distance.

"No," Jasmine replied flatly. "Something's going on, and we'd best stick together. I hope Snow White doesn't mind us following her," she deadpanned, jabbing her thumb in Luna's direction.

"Oh, I know that one!" Helen exclaimed excitedly. The pink-tailed mermaid quickly shot off after the white-haired mermaid with a wide smile.

"Me too!" Lila chirped up, smiling widely as she watched Helen swim off. The girl was really fast.

Jasmine sighed, her palm meeting her forehead. "Well," she muttered lowly, "let's follow them before they vanish."

Shelia groaned, running a hand through her already messy hair. "Ah, fuck it. Guess I'm not travelling home after all." She started swimming in the direction of the two before she jerked back and raised an arched brow at the remaining of the group. "C'mon then. Let's go!"

Jasmine rolled her eyes, starting to walk, a stark contrast to the way the others were swimming. "I doubt any of us are going to go home at this rate," she replied dryly.

Lila cocked her head to the side as a thought rang in the young girl's mind. "Uh… what kind of food do you all eat anyway?" If China had Chinese cuisine and Thailand had Thai food, didn't that make ocean food… seafood? Wasn't that cannibalism, in a way?

Jasmine paused to look back at her before she reached out and pulled the girl along. "No time to think about that, kid. Let's just go before we lose 'em."

"Okay!" Lila chirped, starting to swim at a steady pace beside Jasmine as they headed towards the rest of the group.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Luna was swimming in the sea when she realized something was off. Very off. The unusual white-haired mermaid turned a bit, only to see something behind her with a cerise pink tail. She groaned — not that blonde mermaid again. With a growl, she turned back and swam off, heading towards her house at her fastest possible speed.

Once the mermaid arrived at her house, she turned around, seeing no one. Shaking her head, she stared at her house. It was quite large, though since it used to be an abandoned manor for a noble that had since moved away, it wasn't surprising. "Meh," Luna muttered, swimming up to the door.

The neighborhood was quiet, just like every time she was there. The other mermaids were terrified of her strange coloring, sometimes going as far as to call her a witch, especially for the fact that she resided in the reputedly haunted house on the hilltop. The exterior of the house was covered in some plants, and the walls, colored a soft magenta, were a bit greenish-looking from the ivy that draped the walls.

The mermaid removed a stone from the inside of the gate, picking up a golden key that she used to unlock the doors. As the door opened, she saw the other five from the group earlier come up from behind her. _Not them again,_ Luna mentally groaned. With a scowl, she pushed the doors wider and walked through, knowing that she should just give up.

The inside of the house was far more welcoming than the abandoned-looking, scary exterior, the formerly pink interior changed into a very pale lavender and decorated with several pieces of Antarctic-made furniture and various paintings. It was by far more home-like than the witchy outside, though, and it reminded her of her home — well, her last one, anyway.

A soft chuckle could be heard, and judging from the voice, it was the Panthalassan girl from earlier — Jasmine, Luna thought it was. "I'm impressed," she commented. "Who's your decorator?"

Luna turned sharply to face the group, a fake smirk on her face. "Now why did you all come?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Come in. I decorate my house only on the inside — I don't bother with the outside, since folks around here think I'm a witch anyway." The white-haired mermaid turned and swam inside. "I'll make the meal, so make yourselves at home."

Jasmine chuckled again. "Nature then. I need to get her card."

The shortest of the group — was it Lila? — headed inside after her first. "What's wrong with being a witch?" she inquired. "That would always be cool. Although, that might be because I like black cats and magic." She giggled.

Luna laughed dryly. "Oh yes. A witch. I'll cast spells and cause misfortune on all those that have taken the blessings given to me." The mermaid turned, frowning as she headed into her large kitchen. With a sigh, the mermaid started to get to work, preparing a meal for the group of six.

"Kinda nice," she heard the demon — Shelia — say. There was a low chuckle and a pause as the demon presumably looked around, then the orange-haired demon continued, "Could be a bit darker, but yeah, really nice. Oh, I get called a witch too, not as much as I get called a bitch, though." There was a small snicker, then the demon stopped talking.

Luna continued to listen as she prepared the food. Reaching for a knife, she heard Jasmine note, "She has good taste." There was a sound of the soles of shoes tapping the floor, but Luna ignored that as she continued to make the meal. After a brief while, she finished her cooking and set the food on a couple of plates.

"I'm done with the food!" she yelled over her shoulder as she picked up the plates. She headed out, expertly balancing the plates in each hand and setting them down on the dining room table.

Jasmine was sitting on her pale purple sofa, an elbow resting on the armrest as she leaned her head against a fist. Her lips were twitched upwards as she watched the pink mermaid and the Ancient girl talk.

As she swam over, Luna could pick up bits and pieces of the conversation.

"—do we call that? _Kuudere_? _Tsundere_?" the blonde mermaid was asking.

The young girl paused for a bit. "The word is _tsundere_ ," she finally told the other.

Luna frowned — she didn't understand the terms used, but it irked her nonetheless. "Don't call me that," she cut in sharply. "I'm not this _'tsundere'_ or _'kuudere'_ or whatever it is."

Jasmine snorted. "I thought the word was bipolar," she drawled sardonically, a smirk lifting the corner of her lips. She blew a strand of dark hair out of her eyes as she snickered to herself and leant back in her seat.

Luna merely scowled. Her dark purple eyes went over the entire group, noting that the demon was lounging on the sofa next to the dark-haired girl, while the masked man was leaning against the wall, a mild frown on his face. The other two were seated on the other side, talking animatedly.

However, once she set the plates down, the blonde seemed to perk up and dashed over to one of the empty plates Luna had set out and placed one on her head, taking another and putting food on that one first.

The demon sniffed the air, a frown on her face as she wrinkled her nose. She made a face, turning her face away from the food. "No thank you," she stated dryly. "That's definitely not suited for my kind."

The black-haired girl that had the wings — an Ancient, as Jasmine had called her — took a dish, but before she did, she chirped up, "Thank you, miss Luna."

Luna forced a smile. "Sure, enjoy." She watched the two girls eat, noting that the other three didn't move yet, and once she heard the demon speak, she snorted. "Fine," she replied flatly. "Just tell me what you _do_ eat, and I'll go and make it." As she said that, the white-haired mermaid felt an unnatural tug in her chest, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It felt like… she actually _wanted_ to be closer with the group. She didn't quite know why, but she knew that she had to get herself back to normal before it took over.

The mermaid held back a full-on scowl. "Excuse me," she stated coldly, moving to her bathroom, whereupon she searched for the knife she always kept under the counter. When she found it, she quickly sank the blade into her shoulder, not even giving a pause to consider the pain. It wasn't exactly a safe action, or even one that was considered 'not dangerous'. The blood that left the injury stained the water around her red, and Luna quickly removed the blade and stabbed herself again. A seventh time managed to let the pain take over her feeling of longing.

Luna winced, but put on a cold smile. She washed the knife and hid it away again before she quickly stemmed the bleeding, wrapping a bandage over the injured part and headed back out, ready to cook again. _Idiot,_ she scolded herself. _You don't need anything. Emotion is bad. Very, very bad._

As she passed the room where the others were, she heard the Panthalassan girl speak, though it was low and murmured.

Then, the demon replied, voice stronger. "Blood," Shelia replied simply. "From that direction." She pointed a clawed finger in Luna's way.

Luna blinked as she stared at the two, then her brows rose to her hairline. _Right, the blood,_ she realized. _I forgot the possibility that they could smell it._ She shrugged inwardly. _Oh well._

The blonde had said something, Luna was dimly aware, as Jasmine chided, "It's obvious, Helen." Then, her eyes zeroed in on the mermaid, sending a shiver down Luna's spine. "There," she muttered, jabbing a thumb at the white-haired mermaid. "That wasn't there a minute ago."

Luna forced a laugh. "What's wrong? My food not up to your tastes? I don't know what you're talking about." Inwardly, she was scowling. How did the Panthalassan see it when she was so far away? Plus, her hair was over the bandaged wound.

The demon Shelia got up and walked over to her in the hallway to the kitchen, grabbing her by the upper arm and tossing away her hair to inspect her bandaged shoulder. "You're wounded," she said firmly. "Don't play dumb. You can hide it from a mermaid, but not from a demon."

Jasmine looked at her as the Panthalassan joined the orange-haired demon, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not from me either," she simply noted.

Luna's dark eyes narrowed, glinting with mild anger and hate. "It's just a small cut. No need to worry." She forced a dry laugh. _Why do they even care? It's not like we're even friends,_ she thought bitterly. _And those that were my friends wouldn't even care about me too._

"And I assume it was 'accidental' too, wasn't it?" Jasmine deadpanned, voice dry.

Luna clicked her tongue. "Maybe."

The Panthalassan girl rolled her eyes. "It's pointless, Shelia," she drawled. "She doesn't want help." She turned to walk back to the room where the others were.

Luna managed a small smile, coldly triumphant. "If you're all done, I'll be in the kitchen doing the dishes. You can put the plates together."

Shelia scoffed, walking after Jasmine. "Mm. Best to leave it at that, then," she replied, her lisp stressing the 's' sounds in her words. She murmured something that Luna only vaguely caught the end off. "…don't see the point in denying the obvious."

Jasmine snorted, not looking back at Luna. "People like that don't want to be saved. 'Death seekers', we call them. Hold on." She suddenly turned back from walking and grabbed Luna by her arm. Yanking the mermaid down, she threw a punch straight into the white-haired mermaid's stomach before she released the mermaid. "Now I'm done," she confirmed.

Luna grunted in pain, doubling over as she held her stomach. "Fine," she hissed. "I get the point. No self-harm." She straightened and took the pile of plates on the table, and headed to the kitchen. Before she could, though, she turned and picked up one of the dishes, throwing it at the Panthalassan. "Clean that one for punching me. I can do the rest."

The plate soared at Jasmine, who caught it as it flew over her head, Luna's aim very much off. "Good," she commented. "You got that memo. But do that again, and a punch will be the least of your worries." Her voice was light, airy, and too casual, though the underlying threat in her tone was obvious. There was something that just screamed 'irritation' from her too.

Lila decided to poke her head around the corner at that moment, and in a sheepish tone, said, "Let's all calm down, please?" She offered the three a slightly sheepish smile.

Luna rolled her eyes, carrying the plates inside the kitchen while ignoring the faint pain in her shoulder and the lingering pain from the punch thrown by the Panthalassan. "Whatever you say — just don't forget the dishes!"

Jasmine merely lingered back something to Lila before she followed Luna into the kitchen, taking up a spare sink and washing up. It wasn't long before she was done, and she set the plate aside. "Done," she concluded, and the dark-haired girl turned on her heel, acting like absolutely nothing had happened.

Luna snorted, finishing up the rest of the dishes — there weren't much, considering that four of the six had chosen to abstain from eating. Wiping her hands, she headed back to the living room. "Is everyone done?" she asked flatly, not really caring if they were or not at this point. She felt sick to her stomach — was she actually enjoying this? Pretending like she actually had friends? It was absolutely revolting, yet there was some part of Luna deep inside that wished for the strange coincidence to be due to the Fates being kind to her and granting her friends through a terribly contrived plot.

"Yeah," the blonde mermaid chirped. Helen was balancing four plates atop her head, and by some miracle, the very fragile dishes managed to stay in a perfectly balanced stack. Thankfully so too — Luna had gotten those plates a while back at quite a high price. Breaking them would have been quite the loss.

Luna felt like laughing in amusement at the sight, but as the laugh was bubbling up her throat, she quickly forced it down, the only visible sign of it ever having been possible was the slight twitch of her lips upwards. _Why do I want to let down my walls around them?_ Suppressing the urge to smile or laugh, she snatched all four of the plates, fumbling a bit with them as she dashed towards the kitchen.

As she went, she heard Jasmine speak up from the living room. "Well," she commented bluntly, "that was rude." There was a pause before the girl continued. "Snow White is a damned mystery," Luna heard her note.

"Don't call me Snow White just because of my hair color!" Luna snapped as she headed towards the sink, loud enough to ensure that the group overheard her. "As far as I know, she had black hair and is _kind_." The mermaid quickly put the dishes into the sink, not in the mood to deal with them just yet, and swam back to the room.

"—White is one of the classics up in the human world," Lila was saying with a bright smile.

"I almost made her laugh!" the blonde mermaid piped in, twirling around in a sort of silly victory dance. She held her arms out on either side as she spun around in place, giggling.

Luna scowled. "Did not!" she snapped. Still, there was a smile that was threatening to appear on her face, and for the life of her, Luna didn't know why.

* * *

Read, review, and provide constructive criticism.


	4. Alignments: Chapter 3

Chapter three of the 'Alignments' arc! (Finally too) Just a small update until I can (maybe) form a more solid schedule.

Enjoy the story.

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Shelia simply watched the drama unfold, her arms crossed over her chest as she slowly tapped her upper arm with her pointed claws while she took a seat back on the light purple furniture. Her tail flicked irritably, and her eyes narrowed. Her yellow eyes were narrowed as she watched the scene, a scowl baring her sharp fangs.

How had she gotten herself into the group?

Honestly, she barely got on with any of the other five. She _did_ find herself speaking the same language with Jasmine, but the rest of them… Well, to put it simply, they seemed like the exact opposite of the company she usually kept. No matter, it was still better not to wander off, not even when she felt like going back home.

At the bickering that was going on, the demon couldn't help but roll her yellow eyes a bit. _Ugh. What a bother._ Tuning herself back in to all the drama that was plainly going on, the demon picked up the rear end of Jasmine's sentence.

"—them as I see them," she replied sharply. "I've learnt not to care if people are offended by my tendencies to nickname as I see fit. Yes, Lila, I'm aware of that," the Panthalassan said, changing her target from the white-haired mermaid to the youngest of the group. Finally, she then turned to the pink mermaid, and finished, "but she didn't, and that's the end of it."

The black-haired girl shook her head and stalked over to Shelia before she sank into the seat next to the red demon. "If the Ocean Queen wants us to save the world or something, she chose the wrong people," the Panthalassan growled, loud enough for Shelia to hear. The girl leant back in her seat, frowning as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uh-huh," the demon said with a nod in response to Jasmine. She frowned, raising a condescending brow. "I don't exactly mind saving the world. I _do_ mind serving the 'almighty' Aqua Regina. And I mind doing it with… mermaids." Shelia scoffed contemptuously in a quiet tone. "I only stand for my kind."

Luna whirled around, her dark eyes wide in anger as she spat a response to Jasmine's statement. "She sure did! Why am _I_ supposed to save this world? What has it ever done for me?" She threw her arms up in anger. "Nothing good comes from the world I live in; they hate me and now Her Majesty Aqua Regina wants me to help save it all?" she snarled incredulously. "Help us all!"

The blonde mermaid threw a glance in their way, though the demon noted that she was looking more at Jasmine than at her. "Rude," she heard the pink mermaid mumble. "How does one get themselves out of saving the world?"

Jasmine aimed a sharp glare in the direction of the mermaid. "Can it, Frosty," she snapped harshly. "We don't even know why we're all marked like this." The Panthalassan girl made a large gesture with her hand, and Shelia caught sight of the black mark on her arm again. "For all we know, Aqua Regina could be setting us up as decoys for slaughter!" She scowled deeply. "I agree with Shelia," she concluded, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "Anything that has to do with serving that damn blonde is right out."

"Well, I… I think she chose the right people," Lila voiced out nervously. "I-I mean, things happen for a reason, right?" There was an anxious hope in her eyes, a kind of nervousness that Shelia pinpointed to being due to her being around the entire group.

"I agree," the masked man spoke up calmly. "The Fates must have brought us together for a reason. It is certainly strange on why there are only six of us, however. Nevertheless, we were most definitely chosen for a reason."

"I don't care!" Luna yelled angrily. "I don't care for this world at all! So what if it goes to hell? It never did anything for me!" Her voice dipped, her dark eyes gleaming with hate and anger. "The Arctic… The Antarctic… both, I hate them so much," she spat. "Why should we help them?"

Jasmine's eyes narrowed at Lila, but then she sighed and leant back. "You're not the only one that hates those places," she muttered darkly, scowling. "They hate my kind. I've been there a couple of times before, and just barely escaped being killed by those bloody guards."

"How do you get out of being a chosen one?" Helen cut in, swimming back and forth from one end of the room to another.

Luna nodded at the blonde. "I want to know too. How?"

"You can't," the masked man supplied. "If, and I'm assuming, the Fates chose us specifically, we supposedly have something that makes us stand out from the rest — properties that make us ideal for this."

Shelia's eyes narrowed. "I don't like how that fucking sounds," she growled lowly. "We're stuck doing this? Fuck that shit!"

Lila smiled brightly. "Well, the world did me a favor," the black-haired Ancient girl chirped enthusiastically. "I got to be friends with all of you! Of course I'm going to help save this world!"

Luna screamed in frustration. _"Why?"_ she shouted out, pulling at her hair.

Jasmine growled, blue eyes narrowed.

Helen just groaned in frustration.

Suddenly, the black-haired Ancient girl seemed to sway on her feet unsteadily. Her head dropped, and a pale mist swirled around her form. Shelia instantly recognized the mist as being magical in nature, as it glowed faintly in the depths of the ocean, even in Luna's well-lit home. The youngest of the group then looked up and smiled at the remaining five, and her eyes were taken over with a mix of emerald green, ruby red, and sapphire blue.

"Hello Saviors," she said with an eerie giggle. Her voice seemed like three female voices overlapping at once, and it echoed faintly in the room.

Jasmine stared at the girl. "The hell?" She raised a thin brow. "What did you do to her?"

Luna physically jumped, startled. "The heck is going on?" Her eyes, wide in surprise, stared at the possessed Lila. "What the crap is going on here?"

"Calm yourselves, Saviors," one of the three voices that had spoken earlier stated. The low, authoritative voice rang out powerfully, commanding respect. "It is not who or what we are, but who you are, that truly matters." The green in her eyes had primarily taken over.

Shelia just watched with a sort of morbid fascination with the whole thing.

All the others, she observed, were also staying silent, except for Jasmine, that was. The dark-haired Panthalassan scowled. "The hell does that mean?" she ground out.

"Oh please," one of the three earlier voices cut back in, with a change in pitch and tone as well as attitude. Sassily, the voice continued, "Don't listen to mah sister. She's as ol' as space. Well, straight through an' through, y'all are our champions. You mess with fate, ya get destiny; you mess with destiny, ya still get fate, m'kay?" The girl grinned wildly. "So, ya'll are s'pposed to bring back balance to all o' the soil, sky an' sea. Don' forget, just like the seven princess of the ol' days, there are seven of you. Any questions?" Her green eyes were now primarily red.

Luna burst out, "Yes! Why us?" she shouted. "Why me? Why must I be the one chosen by the Fates when you people have only given me all those days?"

Helen coughed, cutting into the conversation. "Excuse my language for a second," she started politely, "but… the hell are you talking about? There's absolutely no way I'm going to listen to you! What the heck do you mean by us being your 'champions'?" She threw her hands into the air. "Stuff it!" she shrieked.

"We're _what_?" Jasmine asked incredulously. She used both her hands to make a large gesture in bewilderment. "The hell?"

A loud roar boomed outside — strange, since Shelia vaguely recognized it as thunder, and she was pretty certain that it wasn't able to rain underwater. The water currents outside were rapid, swirling around outside like a whirlpool and making a sound vaguely reminiscent of howls. Luna's doors were slammed open by the currents.

A woman's form was illuminated as she stormed in, long blonde hair flowing behind her in strong waves. Her eyes, crystal blue, were narrowed, but aged. She was dressed in a powder blue gown, and held a very recognizable staff with a glowing blue orb atop it. It wasn't hard to recognize her at this point — Aqua Regina herself, in all her regal glory, was here.

"Clotho!" she yelled, her regal voice echoing in the room. "Lachesis! Atropos! What are you doing here?"

Shelia hissed, threatened, as she backed away from the light that the woman practically radiated. She held both her arms up to block the light. It burned the eyes, like how a mermaid's song was painful for her to listen to. Demons and light would never match — it was simply how it worked.

Out of the corner of her squinted eyes, Shelia saw Luna sink into a quick bow before she hid behind the doors.

Helen, on the other hand, sank into a formal bow, showing clear respect to the blasted source of the burning light.

The masked man was simply watching from where he stood as the goddess swept past, not in the least affected by the light that the blonde radiated.

Jasmine, on the other hand, stood and quickly held her cloak out, blocking the light from Shelia's eyes. The girl made a face and turned her head away from the light, clearly just as affected as the demon was.

Lila snorted, red eyes gleaming. "Ah… Lady. Always comin' on in at the best time, eh? Just telling these youngin's here what they're s'posed to be doing."

Aqua Regina gave Helen a hand gesture, and following it, the blonde backed up, straightening from her bow but not yet raising her head. There was a deep frown on her face, and she was clearly not happy with the trio that had taken over the half-Ancient's body. "Zip it, Lachesis," she hissed. "These children here are not prepared for this. You're making a mistake."

Clearly confused and annoyed, Jasmine muttered to Shelia, still shielding her eyes with her hand while she looked between the Ocean Queen and the 'Fates', "Damn it. This is crazy!"

"Hey, those kids are. Cosmetics ain't the only reason why we chose 'em, ya know."

The Ocean Queen gripped her staff tighter, scowling angrily. "The Mermaid Princess were born for a reason!" she snapped. "These... children… they barely have the power the Princess were born with, and one of them isn't even over the age of consent! What can they do against the forces of Malus?"

"Wasn't Her Majesty just thirteen when she went up against the forces of darkness for the first time?" Helen mumbled in a low voice, looking at a piece of furniture across the room.

"Do not underestimate the power of Fate, Lucia," the first voice said once more, and Lila's eyes changed from red to green. "Are you implying that these Saviors were born without a reason? Just like you were chosen by destiny and birthright, they were chosen by fate and capability. No matter if you choose to oppose our choice of champions, or if you will agree to it, their journey will still find a way to come through. There is no way of fighting it."

The goddess glowered at the young girl, though it was obvious she was not angry at Lila, more at the Fates that had taken over her body. "I was a Mermaid Princess all those years ago," she stated firmly. "I had no choice but to do it — it was my solemn duty to save this world, and it still is." Her eyes narrowed, glowing a faint white. "Enough with the fate talk, Atropos," the woman demanded sharply, slamming the end of her staff into the ground. "I was born with the duty. These six are the farthest thing from the Princesses as is even possible."

"You are right, my dear," another voice, lighter and sweet, accompanied by a change of blue eyes, spoke up. "Our chosen champions are no Princesses. But must they be the Princesses to be capable of saving the world? No, it is not we who are overestimating the power of the seven, but you, Lucia, who is underestimating them. Do you not have faith and trust, my dear?" Lila tilted her head to the side, a brow raised.

"Clotho…" the blonde began, but she stopped moments after. Finally, she replied, sighing, "I have trust. But the historical fact is that Malus' forces were always defeated with the use of the Mermaid Princesses' power and they clearly lack that power. If they agree to this, it's going to mean certain death for them!"

The voice with the red eyes returned with a scoff.

Shelia was left rather annoyed and confused by the constant switching, but she didn't say anything.

"Hah! Ya just admitted it! You think they ain't capable of dealing with it! Even after we've given our votes o' confidence, you still can't have faith in 'em! You agreed to it when we told you, ya know. Ain't gonna mean death for you!" Lila scoffed again, red eyes gleaming. "Every single one o' these Saviors has always been underestimated. I'd suggest that ya don' become one o' those that do."

"Yeah!" Helen piped in, voice substantially stronger. "I can kick ass any day!" she proclaimed confidently.

Aqua Regina's grimace was unmistakable at this point. "Fine, I admit it. I don't think they can handle it. They're not just up against Malus — the Princesses aren't happy about it either. Some of the Princesses are going to be outraged that they were passed over for non-mermaids, even."

" _Argh!"_ All three of the Fates screamed in unison, completely irritated and annoyed. "Ya know what?" Red eyes changed to green. "We'll just let the Saviors themselves decide." Green turned blue. "If they think they can't deal with this, and say no to us, then we'll leave." Blue turned to red again. "If they say yes, then they're gonna do it!" All three voices joined up again. "What do you all think?"

Shelia was seriously offended at that statement, and her red fins bristled. "I do believe the _oh-so-mighty_ Aqua Regina remembers my bloodline," the demon hissed harshly, still glad for Jasmine's dark cloak that was blocking some of the light. "If the stories are true, my ancestors used to give you quite the trouble," she sneered. "Don't you _dare_ doubt my abilities!"

Jasmine was the next to speak up, voice strong. "And if a prissy little princess that's never fought before can take down your so-called evil, then so can I. It'd be a blow to my pride if I let that bloody insult slide without retaliation."

From the corner of her eyes, Shelia saw Luna nod silently in affirmation. Well, that was four out of five.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Kazi Carter was not quite sure how he had gotten himself into this situation. Nevertheless, the man nodded silently. He didn't mind having to save the world — if it would help atone for what his kind had done, then it was fine with him

"There's only six of them here," the blonde goddess said once more. "And only five consents. Whether the remaining duo agree or not, they are still being coerced into this."

The younger Panthalassan, still a child by the standard of their kind — Jasmine — growled. "Tch. Why do you even care?" she shot at the Ocean Queen.

A foreboding feeling crept up the Panthalassan man's spine, and Kazi frowned, narrowing his purple eyes from behind his white mask. "Does anyone else feel that?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

There was a distinct aura of fatigue that was spreading through the water, and it was tiring, making him feel heavy, like there was lead weighing him down. Whatever it was, he didn't like it, not in the least.

"Are you brats supposed to be the ones I'm looking for?" Another voice, male, cut into the gathering, sounding tired and like the man simply couldn't be bothered.

"Everyone can feel it," Jasmine snarked at him, rolling her eyes. "Now who are you and what do you want?" she demanded. Reaching under the hem of her shirt, she pulled something out, exposing the handle of a dagger. "Show yourself!"

What followed next was unexpected, to say the least. Contained in a bubble of air, a throne-like armchair appeared in the room, with a young man sitting on it. He gave the group an apathetic glance through dull grey eyes and simply frowned as the chair moved closer to the group. The air of stagnation grew even stronger, if that was even possible.

"My name?" he drawled lazily. "Giving it would be far too much of a hassle. For now, I guess you can call me… Sloth."

"Anyone have a plan?" Jasmine muttered out, drawing out her weapon conspicuously and adjusting her grip on the weapon. "Because I'm not going to just go all 'Leroy Jenkins' in there. It's going to get me killed."

The sole demon of the group growled threateningly, hostility evident. "This guy is gonna bring trouble, and I guess it's now our job to take care of him," she mumbled, drawing out her 's' sounds with a hiss.

"What are you going to do?" Jasmine hissed, giving Shelia a look. "Sing?"

Kazi gripped his staff and decided to take action. Slamming the end of the silver stave into the ground, he pushed his powers into creating a barrier of light between the man and the group. _That should be enough for now—_ His thoughts were cut off abruptly when a blast of pale blue energy slammed into the barrier and shattered it like glass. _What? How did he even do that?_

Without a moment of pause, several vaguely humanoid beings swirled up to form from the dirt, and within seconds, the golems were fully formed. Sloth snapped his fingers, and the golems started to move towards the group.

"Oh, you fucking bet I'm going to sing!" the orange-haired demon yelled out loud. The familiar red sphere of the Live Stage belonging to demonkind flared into existence around her, and she swept up her microphone into her hand, tossing the microphone from hand to hand before she caught it and bared a fanged grin. _"It's Show Time!"_

An aggressive beat started pounding as the demon started to sing, and Kazi had to wince a bit at the harsh-sounding song. The strong voice that the demon sang in didn't help either, since the song just echoed in his head uncomfortably. It didn't hurt, for some strange reason — just felt uncomfortable — but the Panthalassan couldn't be bothered to think about it just then.

Jasmine cursed loudly from beside the demon and angled her weapon, launching herself at a golem that neared. It caught her, tossing her to the ground and holding her there, but the younger Panthalassan snarled and lashed out, throwing the golem off of her. Jumping back onto her feet, she pulled out another knife and kicked another golem in the head.

Kazi muttered a spell under his breath and fired a series of blasts of glowing light at the golems that advanced, channeling his powers through his staff. It didn't last too long, as the golems just got back up again before moving forward once more. Out of the corner of his eyes, the man noted that Sloth's bubble was glowing, and that he didn't seem to be affected by the song at all.

"Damn! This isn't working!" the black-haired Panthalassan yelled, throwing both her blades at a golem, the metal sinking right through the dirt to the handle with ease. The golem didn't even falter in its path, continuing to move forward at her. Jasmine spat a curse, kicking it in its head. "We need another way!" She growled, drawing another weapon and stabbing it into the golem.

Kazi's mind was stuck for a while as he repeatedly held back the golems with bursts of blindingly bright light. "Try combining our powers," he said, recalling one of the chapters in the old books. He did spare a pause though, striking back another golem before he added, "You can use them, right?"

He hoped she could. It would make everything much easier, but his common sense was pointing out that if she could, the girl would have done so quite early into the fight, since she was clearly at a disadvantage in the fight.

The younger Panthalassan frowned, slamming another kick into a golem as she bit down on her lower lip. "Not well," she finally admitted. "I never had the time to learn." She shifted her position and quickly jumped up, kicking another golem with both legs. "What am I supposed to do?"

Kazi suppressed a frown — she didn't know how? "Focus," the white-haired man told her, using the silver staff to physically hold back a golem before concentrating his power in his hands and using the glowing light to send the golem flying back by several feet. "There's a power deep within. Find it, and focus on its radiance." Or the absence of such if she was one of the fewer Dark Panthalassans. "Let it build in strength, and then release it outwards."

The girl gave a stiff nod, and closed her eyes, her tight grip on her weapon slackening a bit as her brow furrowed in deep concentration. A frown crossed her face — she looked to be having some trouble doing as she was instructed to.

In the brief while that she was searching, the masked Panthalassan didn't let himself be distracted. He focused on taking down the advancing golems, and continuously kept them at bay until the girl found what she was supposed to be searching for.

"It's there," the younger Panthalassan muttered, eyes opening again. "What now?" Her grip on her weapon tightened, and Kazi was sure he could see a faint violet spark reflecting off the metal blade. There was no doubt that she had done it.

"Take my hand," he instructed her, training his gaze in front of them, grasping his staff carefully just in case he needed to defend again.

The girl muttered something under her breath and exhaled sharply. "Fine."

Not wasting any time, he quickly took her hand, feeling an electric shock run through him at the contact. That had certainly never happened before. Ignoring the sudden jolt as well as how the demon's song suddenly didn't seem to give him a mild headache anymore, Kazi focused on linking their combined powers together.

The masked Panthalassan searched for the connection, drawing the younger's power towards him to channel it through his staff. There was a mild resistance as he linked their powers together, but he dismissed it, deciding it was probably just her lack of familiarity with the Panthalassan magic. The familiar burning on his brow alerted him that he had indeed found the connection, and he adjusted his hold on his staff, preparing to fire a blast of magic.

Kazi leveled his staff, confident about his next move. Concentrating the power through the staff, he fired a blast of darkened light straight at the man, the projectile constructed by magic striking true and causing a small-scale explosion that kicked up dust and created a veil of smoke that hid the rest of the scene.

Immediately, the younger of the two yanked her hand away and winced, stumbling back as she nursed her head, making a face. "Ugh," she mumbled. "I'm never going to do that again." Her eyes narrowed a bit as she tried seeing through the thick smoke. "Did it work?" she asked warily.

"I'm not sure," Kazi stated, looking through the slowly dissipating smoke. He was confident that he had succeeded, but he wasn't foolish enough to just assume without basis. The masked man lowered his staff, not completely lowering his guard just yet.

"That actually hurt." The smoke then cleared abruptly, revealing Sloth once more, looking somewhat disgruntled. It was like the blast didn't even hit him, and if it wasn't for the minor burns on him, Kazi would have thought that the attack had completely failed to hit.

The younger Panthalassan hissed a series of vulgarities.

"Enough," Aqua Regina's voice spoke up from behind them as the goddess moved forward. "Stand back. I will deal with this," she commanded, her voice full of grace and authority. The blonde raised her golden staff, the glowing blue orb at the top flaring up with power, sparks flying. The Ocean Queen delivered a cold glare with her pale blue eyes. "Leave now, human," the goddess ordered. "I do not wish to inflict harm on you."

The man — a human, according to the goddess — yawned lazily. "Whatever," he drawled. "Just let me get back to resting."

Aqua Regina didn't say another word, raising her golden staff, frowning. "So be it," she said with a heavy sigh. She brandished her weapon and pointed it straight at the human, and Kazi could hear her murmur a quick prayer in Latin before she released her power. A flash of bright light filled the room, almost blinding the Panthalassan in the process. A beam of glowing energy circled around the man several times, slowly shrinking in diameter before it smashed straight into him.

The man let out a scream as the glowing light broke right through the bubble, and vanished into a pale blue vortex, fleeing from the scene.

The end of Aqua Regina's staff hit the floor as the regal-looking woman shook her head, looking over at the three Fates that had taken over the youngest of the group's body. "I told you three," she started softly, blue eyes heavy with sorrow, "they weren't ready." She sighed heavily. "And I wasn't wrong."

The small girl walked back into the middle of the room, having moved out of the fray once the battle had begun. Her tri-colored eyes gleamed eerily as the Fates that possessed her spoke in an unnerving unison. "When divided, they cannot reach their full potential. When united, they have the power to save this world." The black-haired child cocked her head to the side. "Was it not the same case for you and the Guardian Princesses?" Her eyes cycled through the three colors as the girl just looked at the goddess.

The blonde goddess sighed heavily and pushed her strong blonde waves out of her eyes, shoulders slumping in defeat. She lowered her staff, frowning. "True," she finally agreed, looking reluctant. "But they'll just have to find their last companion by themselves." Her voice was suddenly grim, sending a sense of foreboding down Kazi's spine.

Aqua Regina shook her head and looked back at the group before glancing at the Fates. "Then… I'll just have to continue holding back Malus until they do," she concluded with a sigh, gripping her staff tighter as she looked away from the Fates.

"Good," Lila chirped, her blue eyes glinting, before all three colors returned full-force. "Well then, we should take our leave now." A smile crossed the young girl's features. "And remember," the girl cooed with red eyes glinting mischievously, a grin on her face. "Fate's gonna be fate. Ya can't fight it." Green eyes took over once more. "Good luck, Saviors. You have your work cut out for you."

The mist that was curling around the girl dissipated, and the tri-colored glow in her eyes vanished as the child's eyes closed and she swayed on her feet. Then, the girl fell back.

The blonde goddess caught the small girl with a subtle flick of her wrist, waving her staff ever so slightly, and enveloping the child in a bed of bubbles. Slowly, Aqua Regina lowered the girl to the ground, where the black-haired child curled up like she was sleeping.

Kazi wasn't sure if she was, or if she had just fallen unconscious.

Aqua Regina sighed heavily as she turned to the remaining group. "Well, Saviors," she murmured, shaking her head, "it seems that you've all made your choice. Be careful. He wasn't the only enemy you will have to face in the future." Her blue eyes went over each of the five, gaze lingering carefully before moving on. "A word of advice: go along with the Fates, now that you've accepted your post. You'll just regret it if you don't."

"There's a disturbance in the Arctic. Start from there, Saviors." The woman gave a sad smile and she turned away. "Good luck." Once that was said, she vanished into the clear water, with no trace of the regal-looking woman ever having been there before.

 _Good luck._ Aqua Regina's voice echoed in his head, repeating that one sentence like a record stuck on a loop. _Good luck. Good luck. Good luck._

Kazi slammed his staff into the ground, clenching his fist while his hand tightened around his staff.

 _Good luck._

The masked man cursed under his breath, scowling angrily. He hadn't felt so helpless — so unable to take control of his own fate — since the end of the Panthalassan rebellion. Not since Aqua Regina had destroyed his people. The Panthalassan shot a glare at where the goddess used to be, though it wasn't very effective, considering the Ocean Queen was no longer there.

"The hell did I just get myself into?" Jasmine hissed, looking incredulous. The girl pushed aside her dark hair and delivered an angry glare at the empty space where the Ocean Queen had been. "The fuck?" she spat, eyes narrowed, throwing her hand out in a wild gesture.

"The fuck were we just told to do?" Shelia hissed incredulously. "Did she just tell us to head to the motherfucking Arctic? That's a damned suicide mission!"

Kazi couldn't focus on anything else at this point, tuning out the rest of the demon's rant. _Aqua Regina…_ His eyes shut and his frown deepened. _Why?_

* * *

Read, review, and provide constructive criticism.


	5. Alignments: Chapter 4

Chapter four of the 'Alignments' arc; I took too long with this one.

Enjoy the story.

* * *

Jasmine sighed as she rubbed her wrists, observing the scene around them. _Well, we did quite a number on the area,_ she thought, rolling her eyes sardonically as she clicked her tongue.

"So what now?" Mask-Face asked. He was surveying the area much like she was, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was likely thinking something along the same lines as she was, that was to say, _That was messy._

The girl silently surveyed the destruction caused by the battle some more before she shook her head. "We clean up and apologize to Luna," she muttered. "Least we can do to make it up for damaging her place in the chaos." The mercenary headed to a room in the back and got a broom and dustpan from inside. "Catch," she called over, tossing the items over to the man as she returned.

"Damn, that was eventful," Jasmine heard Shelia comment as the demon looked outside, maybe searching to see if Aqua Regina was still around. "Well, the glowing sea bitch is gone!" the orange-haired demon yelled, her lisp getting stronger at the 's' sounds in her sentence.

"Hey, don't say that about Her Majesty!" Helen protested, the blonde mermaid next to young Lila as she tried to ease her up and off the ground.

Luna had come out from behind the doors she had been hiding behind, and the white-haired mermaid was helping Helen lift Lila up and onto the sofa, where the unconscious child could rest until she woke up.

The masked man caught the items that she threw over with relative ease with one hand. With his other, he tapped the end of his silver staff on the ground, causing a ray of golden-tinged light to spill forth. The faintly glowing light repaired much of the broken coral in Luna's home, not even leaving behind cracks, much less any indicator that it had been broken before.

As the light worked to repair most of the damage, he started sweeping up the dust that had ended up gathering from the attacks. "How are we even sweeping underwater?" he asked bemusedly.

Jasmine shrugged as the girl picked up a shard of broken china, careful not to let it cut herself as she tossed it into the dustpan, where it landed with a soft 'chink'. "Trying to hand a lampshade?" she asked, raising a dark brow. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Shelia heading outside, but the dark-haired girl didn't say a word about it just yet. "You'd be better off asking how magic works," she continued offhandedly to the man.

"I did ask that once," the white-haired man replied, stopping in the middle of his work to give her a glance. "Took me seven years to figure out what the guy had said." He resumed his work, occasionally moving the dustpan around so it caught the shards that she tossed to it.

Jasmine chuckled in amusement as she picked up a couple of shattered ornaments and tossed them over to the pile. "A wise man once told me to question everything," she quipped. "When I asked him why, he told me not to question that. So the lesson was apparently 'question everything unquestioningly."

"I could teach you to use some of the powers our kind have," he said conversationally, continuing the sweeping.

Jasmine paused and glanced down at a shard before the girl tossed it in the direction of the dustpan. "I… that would be nice," the girl admitted. "I never quite got the chance to learn how."

"I can teach you after this," the man replied, and she could see the barest hint of a smile from under his mask. "We can meet up in my home on the surface where we can train."

Jasmine stopped what she was doing to stare up at the ceiling, as if she could see through the coral and up into the sky that was above the sea. "The surface world, huh?" she mumbled to herself before she sighed, exhaling slowly and looking back down. "I've been there before. Never went too far into the area, but it's a quaint place. Of course, from my awful luck, something's going to happen soon that forces _all_ of us onto land —" she abruptly paused, "— and I hope I didn't just jinx us by saying that."

"I have a nice house by the sea," the man replied to her, also stopping his work. "But I try not to venture into the underwater kingdoms for too long, due to the animosities about our kin."

Jasmine muttered a harsh curse and flinched at the reminder of the deeply-ingrained hatred of Panthalassans in many of the kingdoms. Her fists clenched, thankfully not around a sharp shard, and the vaguest memory of something that happened over ten years ago resurfaced to the front of her mind. Her teeth grit as she bit back her anger. "Let's not talk about that," she managed to force out through her grit teeth. "It's… not something I want to remember."

"Nor I," the man agreed in a sombre tone. He reached for his white mask and removed it. The white mask vanished, and with an aside glance at the silver staff he held in his other hand, it returned back to a silver pendant that settled onto a chain around his neck. Briefly, the golden cross that Jasmine recognized at the mark of the Panthalassa Clan gleamed on his brow before it faded away.

"Looks like Mask-Face got tired of the mask," Jasmine jabbed, though her tone was light-hearted and rather joking despite her dark mood. She managed a little chuckle, but then frowned deeply. "I have the feeling that it's not going to be easy for us," the girl said, the solemnity in her tone obvious. "Between you, me, and Shelia, we're already hated by half the population." The dark-haired girl shook her head with not a little dismay, and her voice was spiteful when she spoke next. "Our history is set in stone, no thanks to the actions of those in the Rebellion."

The now-unmasked man's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Panthalassan Rebellion and a frown etched itself onto his features. "My name is Kazi, by the way," he stated smoothly, voice even, "though I personally prefer the name Z. I was a young lord in the kingdom," he continued grimly, and Jasmine was aware that she was the only one who was hearing this. "I watched my people destroy themselves, and with this new development, I know that we'll have to stick together to finish this."

The younger of the two Panthalassans nodded, no less grim. "Jasmine, she replied curtly to him. "Born after the First Ocean War," she added. As Jasmine glanced back around at the mostly cleaned up floor, she noted that Lila seemed to be stirring awake. The girl looked back at Kazi with a frown. "We'll have to. I have a feeling that we're in big trouble."

"Agreed." Kazi extended his hand in a gesture, and a slight smile appeared on his face. "But we can succeed."

Jasmine's eyes, narrowed, quickly found something out of the ordinary — the word 'Fourth' written on his hand with a neat, formal-looking script in white. She nodded, giving her own arm, with the black cursive writing that spelt out 'First' another glance. "Welcome to the team, Fourth," she commented dryly.

It seemed as if Kazi only noticed the mark then, as he blinked in confusion as to what she was saying, before he saw the writing on his hand. "What?" he asked, brow furrowed together. "When did this get here?"

All her suspicions confirmed, Jasmine nodded to herself. "You grabbed my hand earlier," she stated matter-of-factly, holding her arm out and tapping the black mark for emphasis. "All we're missing now is Second and Seventh. Luna should be either one of them," she said, blue eyes darting over to the white-tailed mermaid.

Kazi nodded. "Then in that case, we are most certainly chosen by the Fates for this task that lies ahead. I will be sure to teach you to fight with your powers, so that we won't need rescuing next time."

The mercenary made a sound of agreement, crossing her arms over her chest. She silently glanced around the room — everything was just about done, it seemed. The Panthalassan could find no more shards on the ground, which was most definitely a good thing. "That would be one thing I'd appreciate," she muttered. "I don't like having to be weak. It's a blow to my pride and makes me feel inferior."

"Indeed," Kazi agreed, setting the equipment aside as he finished up. "Now," he glanced around and then at her, "shall we take our leave?"

Jasmine raised a brow. "To train?" There was a part of her that was eager to learn — as she usually was, in fact. Then there was another part… not so much. That part of her was still working out the finer details of her new assignment for her, and it was failing to get past 'I have to save the world'. For some reason, that disturbed her less than 'a bunch of people are trying to kill me because of who I am'.

For good reason, of course. Being what she was, she was already on a hit list that comprised of half the mermaid populace.

Kazi gave a curt nod of his head. "The sooner we start, the better," he told her. "You've touched the power within, so now, you need to harness it." That was the end of his explanation, it seemed, as he then moved towards the exit of the house, giving Luna and Helen a short nod of acknowledgement as he passed them.

Jasmine mumbled a curse, inhaling sharply as she tossed her bare hands a glance. The memory of a sharp spark of lightning filled her mind — the sheer power she could feel from it was… empowering, to say the least. Flexing the fingers of her left hand, she exhaled. "Right. Let's get started them."

The man gave her a nod, and went outside, presumably heading for the surface.

Jasmine gave the other three a glance that said 'don't do anything stupid with no one around' and gave the sleeping Lila a gesture, trying to tell the group to head up if needed. Then, she walked out the door, gently closing the repaired item behind her, and took off to follow the older Panthalassan, and for once, she was actually feeling positive about everything.

It was after a good while of swimming that Jasmine could see that the man was leading her towards a small cove. Without a word, the girl followed behind, though she did examine the cove rather acutely, taking in small details she was sure wouldn't be useful in the future. It seemed like the cove was rather new, she noted to herself, but she said nothing on it. Glancing back forward, she saw Kazi move into another cave and finally, after following him, she surfaced in a small pool, inside what could only be the basement of a house — likely his.

Seeing that he had already gone onto land, she followed suit, and quickly followed up with a sharp inhale of air, getting used to the feeling of breathing in air rather than water for a brief moment. It wasn't as unpleasant as it was the first time around, so thank goodness for how she often dropped by the surface while she was in school to pick up materials. "So," she started casually, "this is your home."

The white-haired man nodded as he walked up a flight of stairs that presumably led up to the ground floor. "It's where I live," he confirmed. "I built the pool so I could return to the sea on occasion. Of course, I expect to be doing that far more often now." His clothes had changed, Jasmine noted to herself, into something more similar to casual human wear.

The girl processed the statement, nodding in agreement. "Very smart. Seeing someone dive headfirst into the water and not come back would have prompted quite a few people to call the cops on you." She took the chance to remove her cloak, folding it neatly and tucking it under her arm. Meanwhile, she busied herself with looking around, mildly intrigued. They did say how a house was decorated could tell much about a person, after all.

Kazi led her into a decently-sized house — one with two floors, judging by the height of the staircase she could see — with well-furnished rooms. It wasn't plain by any means, but it wasn't opulent either. Still, it looked quite personal, like someone did live there. There were paintings hung on the wall, with items in glass showcases carefully attached to the wall. The most impressive thing, though, had to be the large library he led her into. The room was filled with books, mostly old tomes from the worn covers and faded letterings along the spines.

It was someplace she'd like to lock herself into and read until she got bored, which was unlikely.

"I'm assuming you work a well-paying job," Jasmine said offhandedly, looking around the library while telling herself to mind her manners and not grab the first book that caught her attention in the room. It was quite the temptation, but she was good at resisting those, as far as she knew. The girl didn't look like the bookworm-type, but she was most definitely a book-lover.

He shrugged, waving the question off. "A decent job," he said in response. "Most of the money comes from jewels and such that I brought to the surface." Which could technically mean that he didn't even need to work much at all — jewels, gold, silver and the like were very viable currency in the marine world, above the mermaid government-issued shell-based currency.

The girl didn't feel like prying, so she didn't. "I see." Her gaze roved over the impressive collection of titles in the library, dark blue eyes practically sparkling at the vast range of books. Not comparable to the Academy's library, but the range of topics was certainly broader. "You certainly have quite the impressive collection there," she noted, glancing around with not a little awe.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him smile briefly. Kazi waved one of his hands in the air, and just like that, several old tomes appeared on a shelf that she hadn't seen when she entered the room. It was as if they had been there the whole time, but she had simply refused to register their presence in the room. Still, it was undeniable that those books were now, in fact, there and in the room.

She physically jumped a little when she saw the shelf and the books, and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times to confirm what she had seen. "How did I not notice that?" she asked, looking at the shelf once more to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. "That's impressive," she muttered.

There was a hint of mirth in his voice. "Just one of the things I've learned I can do with my powers," the man said, reaching over to the shelf and pulling out a dusty old tome. The crest of the Panthalassa Clan — which, while not too familiar, was not a completely new sight to her eyes — was emblazoned boldly onto the surface.

"Looks like it's been around for a couple hundred years at the least," Jasmine noted, letting her fascination show. She hadn't been allowed to handle books like that back in school, as they were rather fragile.

"It's one of the old spell books of our people," Kazi told her, handing the heavy-looking book over to her. "Few are left in existence, as they were lost when the nobility died after the Rebellion."

Jasmine paused, quickly amending her statement as she inspected the yellowed parchment that made up the pages of the thick, leather-bound tome. "Okay, really old." Her gaze lightly skimmed over minute writing in the pages, detailing things she barely understood and which she wasn't sure she'd understand anytime soon. Skimming causally over yet another page, she saw something that caught her eye and made her double back to read it in more detail. "Cursed twins?" she read aloud, sounding sceptical. "And that is supposed to mean…"

The man picked up another book from the shelf, heading over to one of the comfortable-looking armchairs in the library. "Not quite sure about that part. I'm still working through reading through all these books."

"There's quite a lot of them," the dark-haired girl remarked as she glanced across the shelf. "Depending on how much you read, and how fast, that could take from a year to six months for you to finish the whole lot."

The man smiled, sitting down and cracking the book open. "Care to lend a set of eyes then? It will help you to advance faster."

"I'd love to."

"Pick a book," Kazi told her, gesturing at the shelves. "We'll work on the practical side of things later."

The girl looked over the tomes and selected one that seemed the least likely to hold information that she would have no chance of understanding. It was a bit thinner than the rest, and the canvas-bound cover looked just a tad more worn. Without even waiting to sit down, she had already started reading through the contents. The girl sat down in the other chair, immersed into the book already.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Helen blinked, once, twice, thrice, and an infinite number of times as she tried to take in what just happened. One second, they were arguing with Aqua Regina, the next, there was this weird guy — even weirder than some of the members of her group — casually standing in the middle of the room, and in another second, he was gone, thanks to the efforts made by Jasmine, the masked man, and Aqua Regina herself. Furthermore, Jasmine and the masked man, now known as Kazi, cleaned the mess they made and disappeared off to somewhere.

The mermaid shook her head, swimming away from Lila's side. "I guess I'll follow my instinct," the strawberry blonde mumbled quietly, leaving the house as well. She followed the trail left by the two and entered a cave, questioning for a second why she was doing all of this after involuntarily signing her own death before she went any further.

She surfaced and breathed in the familiar oxygen while she took the chance to look around. The blonde noticed that she was in the basement of a house, probably Kazi's from their discussion earlier. She pulled herself out of the water, and in a matter of seconds, her skin was dry and she had assumed her human form. Her hair shortened into a wavy bob cut, and her tail changed to a pair of legs. Thankfully, she wasn't naked like last time, and she had on the clothes she had found the last time she had went to the human world, consisting of a pink shirt and jean shorts, though she still lacked socks and was walking in sandals.

The girl took a few shaky steps to some stairs, trying to get herself used to having legs again and not her tail. Fortunately enough, her shorts allowed her to move quicker and her shirt wasn't so long that it hindered her movement. When she was walking without a potential trip every other step, the girl practically ran up the stairs to look for the duo. "Anyone home?" she called out, looking around curiously.

After a while, a door down the hall to her left was opened and Jasmine walked outside, stopping when she saw the girl. The taller of the two closed the door gently, saying something to Kazi, who was presumably inside, and she strode over. "Helen?" she asked, raising a fine black brow. "Did you follow us here?"

Ignoring the rhetorical tone of the question, the pink mermaid came up with a sarcastic jab. "No, I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by." The girl was very proud of the sarcasm dripping from her answer, pleasantly surprised by how well she had pulled it off, and smiled to herself.

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes. "At least you have clothes on," she said, voice deadpan, quickly reminding Helen that while she was not quite one to make sarcastic quips, others were. "Why exactly did you come up here too, Sixth?"

Sixth, right, that was her name, wasn't it?

Helen shot her shoulder a quick glance and turned back to Jasmine. "I got these when I was up here last time," she said, twirling around in place to show off all sides of the simple human outfit. How typical of her. "Anyway," she said, blatantly ignoring the rest of the asked questions, "it seems like you two know a lot of things." She hoped she had made it obvious that she had a question or two she wanted to be answered.

The other girl seemed bright, right?

Helen held her breath for a while, waiting for her response.

Jasmine blinked once, looking at her, then spoke. "About what?"

The strawberry blonde mermaid sighed — no going back now, she supposed — and shifted her gaze elsewhere, somewhere other than the tall, and perhaps a _little_ intimidating girl in front of her. She wasn't trusting the other girl, she reminded herself, she just needed this information to keep herself alive. Yeah, that was right. She bolstered her courage up, then asked her question to the taller girl. "What if a mermaid is born without a pearl? Is there a way for her to have one later one?" she asked, and after a moment of pause, finally looked back at the other, meeting the dark blue, somewhat confused gaze boldly.

The taller girl seemed to be playing with the given scenario in her mind for a while, as her gaze was focused not on Helen, but something else in the hallway. "I've… heard of a case like this before," she said slowly. "It was something a colleague mentioned, so I'm not completely sure." She paused, staring down Helen, brow furrowed together, either in thought or confusion. "She mentioned something about the Ocean Queen, but I wasn't paying much attention." She shrugged her shoulders a little. "In all likelihood, Aqua Regina could probably provide one to said mermaid anyway." The Panthalassan girl folded her arms over her chest. "Why do you ask? And don't give me the 'I was just wondering' bull. I've heard it before."

Helen clicked her tongue, annoyed by how quickly the other girl had sealed her only way of backing out of the conversation. She narrowed her eyes and exhaled sharply, keeping her voice firm. "This is something no one knows, and I don't want it being spread about," she said sternly. She had made herself clear, the blonde was certain, that whatever she was going to say had to remain between the two of them, and if Kazi was listening in somewhere, he was to keep it a secret as well.

She paused for a beat, then started to explain. "I was born without a pearl because I'm half-human," the mermaid said. "I was born on the surface, and then my mother took me underwater, so I lacked a pearl from birth." The blonde looked up at the other girl, her features schooled into a serious expression, but her blue eyes were deeply saddened, sorrow clear in the irises.

"I… see." Jasmine seemed to be eyeing her warily, though she didn't seem to be regarding her with disdain, fortunately enough. "I won't say anything," she continued, the promise very much made clear. She paused, dark blue eyes leaving Helen, likely thinking about something else. "You know, aside from a myth or two, you could just be the first mermaid-human hybrid involved in a world-saving prophecy." A slight smirk curled her lips.

"That doesn't exactly make me happy, being the first and all," the strawberry blonde retorted. She was fed up with what she was, being inferior to both species, for she was neither a mermaid, nor a human, a hybrid with no place that she belonged to. A mermaid who had no pearl, and a human with a tail. What a joke.

She sighed; perhaps it was better to put the topic aside.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Luna was done with all of this, she was sure. She blamed herself for not even trying to get away. Stretching, the pale purple mermaid got up with a pained frown, the stinging from her shoulder a dull nuisance in her side. "If I'm one of them… I guess, then, I'll have to follow." The mermaid glanced back at her house and sighed upon seeing the cleaned living room. "This is what you get, Luna," she muttered, "what you get for thinking of being kind. Stupid, stupid girl…" Her mind went back to the battle that had nearly been lost, had it not been for the goddess Aqua Regina, and Luna pursed her lips. "I can't be hiding forever," she murmured, making her mind up to follow behind Helen too.

The pale mermaid swam for the door, freezing when she reached it. "The others…" she reminded herself. Reaching out for a piece of parchment and a quill from a tabletop in the room, she jotted down a simple, to the point note for the others and then set it down, proceeding to swim off. She made small signals as she followed behind Helen so the others could follow, then as she swam after the petite-looking mermaid, she realized to herself, "You're being kind now. You're actually caring!"

Despite herself, Luna smiled. "It feels nice, though."

The mermaid continued to swim after Helen, only slowing down when she reached a cove. Luna poked her head over the surface of the water, looking around, then surfacing completely to turn to her human form. With her hair now in a pale braid over her shoulder as well as wearing a long-sleeved black turtleneck and jean shorts, the mermaid headed up the stairs after Helen. Opening the door, Luna spotted both Helen and Jasmine standing in the hallway, likely in the middle of a conversation.

"—calm down," the taller of the two girls was saying, her expression irritated and her voice no better. She turned slightly, raising her gaze from the strawberry blonde in front of her to make eye contact with Luna, dark blue eyes relaxing a little from the annoyed expression they were set it. "You finally came out of hiding, Frosty," she said idly, voice casual, like she wasn't just annoyed and irritated.

"Frosty?" Luna echoed, raising a thin brow at the unexpected nickname. "Sorry I was hiding," she followed up, her retort sharpened by the anger she felt at the implication of cowardice. She glared elsewhere, lowering her voice to a mumble. "Just when I thought—" She cut herself off. "Never mind." She turned her dark purple glare onto Jasmine, raising her voice. "Where are we heading?"

The dark-haired girl shrugged. "I was about to head inside. Though… I do wonder." Her dark blue eyes met Luna's glare without even a flinch, casual and calm. "Are you one of us, or not?" A dark brow was arched in the direction of the pale purple mermaid, almost like she was daring the Antarctic mermaid.

Said mermaid instantly became defensive, stepping back and away from the taller girl, glaring hard at her. She was aware that Helen was looking between the 'argument' with a measure of curiosity, but she couldn't bother with it just yet. "Why would _you_ care?" she hissed, her eyes narrowed as she stood back defensively. "Hopefully," she spat, "I'm not. You did punch me in my stomach, and therefore you made contact with me, and yet I felt nothing. And if you _dare_ touch me again—" Luna hissed at her, cutting off her unspoken threat before it was even made.

 _Am I that scared of them? Of letting myself have friends again?_ Just a few seconds ago, she was rejoicing at the thoughts of having people who would actually care about her, about having friends, but now she was trying to break away from them. Was she scared of getting hurt again? Like… like she was hurt by… by _them?_ She sighed to herself, disappointed.

Jasmine seemed to have brushed off her confrontational attitude with ease. " _You_ need to touch _me_ for it to work," she corrected brusquely, and then the other girl promptly leaned in, so close that their noses were barely touching. A hand gripped Luna's upper arm to stop her from moving away. "A chat, Luna, if you would," she said crisply, her Eastern Atlantic accent coming clear across in her statements. "I know you're hiding something, and to be quite frank, I don't _care_ what it is. I don't _care_ if you can't tolerate met. I don't _care_ if you hate me. We're in this together, like it or not, and you just have to bite down and take it."

The dark-haired girl cleared her throat and straightened back up, releasing her grip on Luna, much to Helen's apparent bewilderment. "Well now," she said calmly, adjusting her shirt, "that's out of the way…" She offered a pale hand to the mermaid, unfazed by the sudden changes in her attitude or the turns of the conversation.

The pale purple mermaid flinched away from the offered hand, grimacing unconsciously. "You don't need to know _anything_ ," she hissed violently. "I prefer being alone!" _Even though I've been alone for years now._ Those were the words that wanted to come out, but the mermaid wasn't about to let them. The girl took a few more steps back, defensively raising her hands. Did she want something else? Luna didn't know; she couldn't help it! She was always in disbelief, always cautious and fearful — that came with the territory of losing everything and everyone she loved within mere moments of each other.

The Panthalassan girl lowered her hand, raising a brow at Luna, making the mermaid glare once more. "And I said," she repeated brusquely, "that I don't care about any of that." She pinned a frosty glance on the mermaid — one that Luna didn't flinch at — and continued speaking. "Look," she said solemnly, "you heard what the Fates said. You head what the bloody Ocean Queen said. They called us 'champions', the Fates' champions. They want _us_ to save the entire bleeding world, and we _all_ agreed to it. You too, if you don't remember."

Her voice dropped again, just enough for Luna to head, and her following sentence was much softer than her hard tone moments earlier. "If you don't want to talk, then fine, but know that when you do, then at least one of us will be willing to lend you an ear."

Luna hissed, reluctant and torn between her decisions. What should she do? She heard someone speak up behind her — was that the girl with the wings, what was her name, Lila? — and saw Jasmine's eyes briefly flicker off her and onto the person behind her, giving the pale mermaid some time to think over her possible choices. She pressed her lips together into a thin line. Half of her wanted to accept the taller girl's offer and take her hand, to believe in what the girl had promised and explain what was wrong; the other half just wanted to go back to her home, glare at the people that stubbornly refused to let go, and shut herself off again… just like she had been doing for the past few years since… since _it_ happened.

Feeling a gaze on her again, the purple mermaid turned her gaze back onto Jasmine, tilting her head up to meet the dark blue gaze as audaciously as she dared. She inhaled deeply, steadying her breath as she pulled herself straight up. "Fine," she finally said, "I'll listen this time. But if something happens, and if either I have to talk, or you all have to listen, then… then promise me… promise me you won't judge." She was scared, scared they'd reject her for the stigma she carried, scared she'd be hauled back… Her eyes darted nervously to Helen, and to small Lila, who were both watching with a measure of curiosity.

The Panthalassan nodded. "We're a team, yes?" Her voice wasn't as harsh as it was moments ago, much lighter and optimistic. She extended a hand to Luna again, the slender black mark on the inside of her left elbow peeking out at the mermaid under her rolled-up sleeves, teasing the pale mermaid cheekily. "We're in this together, like it or not, so I promise."

The purple-eyed mermaid looked at her, hesitant. Did she believe the Panthalassan girl? She was only ever told that they were no more than lying, backstabbing bastards, after all, so did she dare? Her hand reached out, hovering inches above Jasmine's, and then she made her decision, reaching out to clasp the proffered hand as firmly as she could. A sharp, stinging burn made itself present on the back of her neck, and the girl hissed softly in pain. Her eyes widened in pain, and she looked up at Jasmine, worried.

The small smile that had only been vaguely there didn't falter on the taller girl's face. "It will be fine, Luna," she assured calmly, her voice soft and warm. Gently, the dark-haired girl squeezed the mermaid's hand in a comforting manner, not yet letting go.

Luna nodded, pushing all her anxieties away. She could trust her — she _would_ trust her. It would be alright if she showed weakness, because they wouldn't take her back. She was safe, and she wanted to be safe. She wanted to be that girl she used to be like, the cheerful, optimistic child that loved to have fun and play around, not the fearful, cautious, and anti-social shell she was right now. Purple eyes closed, and her shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you."

Was it a figment of her imagination, or did Jasmine smile wider? And was that her saying 'You're welcome'?

Shaking it off, Luna looked around, smoothing the excitement she felt under her usual frown and blankness, not an easy feat with her current joy. The girl leaned on a wall, curiously sweeping the living room with a purple gaze. _So, this is what a human house looks like?_ She looked over at Helen and Lila as the petite duo walked over, both looking positively tiny next to Jasmine's tall frame.

"Now, why exactly did you lot follow Kazi and I up here?" the dark-haired girl asked. "Not to say that I don't appreciate the concern." Despite the sarcastic tone of her voice, it seemed almost as if the Panthalassan truly did feel some measure of gratitude towards them.

Luna blinked, not hearing the others' answer, and replied with the first excuse she could think of. "I heard some talk about fighting and I thought it would be interesting," she said.

"It was less fighting and more about training," she corrected. "I never knew that the Panthalassa Clan's history dates back so far." She sounded almost in awe, Luna noted. Perhaps she loved learning?

Then, the mermaid caught sight of Helen and Jasmine sharing a few glances, and she frowned. "Don't linger on the thought," she said hastily. "I didn't hear your precious conversation." She cringed at herself — she was trying to help… not that she was good at it anyway. Her face burning in embarrassment at her slip-up. Aqua Regina help her, let the blonde not take offense!

Said blonde looked over at her and nodded, apparently satisfied and not taking offense. "Not that I don't like you two," the strawberry blonde explained. "Just as there are things you don't want others to know, I don't want people knowing of that." She offered a shy smile over at the pale purple mermaid.

"You're not the only one…" Luna looked down, knowing that her face was getting redder.

"You remember what the Ocean Queen mentioned earlier, yeah?" Jasmine interjected after a pause, drawing Luna's line of sight back towards her. Helen was nodding, while Lila was just looking blank. "About the Arctic?" the girl clarified, though it still drew a blank from the smallest of the four.

The Arctic? No, no, no, no, she was not going back there! If she did, they'd haul her back to the Antarctic, and she'd be back in that cell, behind those bars, back in that terrifying place… Her shiver wasn't entirely masked — she didn't want to go back to prison. The mermaid swallowed down a harsh retort, and glared harshly at the Panthalassan. "I refuse to go to the Arctic," she practically hissed.

"Well," the black-haired girl muttered, "we could… always let the problem come to us. And kill a couple dozen more people in its wake, if that Sloth bloke was any indication."

Guilt trip? Was she trying to guilt Luna into going? Not if she had a say in it!

The mermaid grunted disapprovingly. "I see what you're trying to do, but I will say this. I don't want to get near any of the Poles. When I get nervous, I shut down and all that's left of me is someone who can't function properly. I'm not going to go mindlessly into the Arctic. If you were me, you'd know why."

Jasmine shrugged, muttering, "I can hazard a guess or two. Your parents died there. Someone you knew died there. You broke up with your girlfriend and wanted a new start. You got run out of town. You broke out of prison and are a wanted fugitive…" she trailed off, ticking off each idea on one of her fingers.

"You should write a book," Helen commented from the side. "It could make up a good story."

"When you're working as a merc-for-hire, kid," the dark-haired girl mentioned, "you see scenarios like that every other day. 'I want them dead because they were involved in my parents murder', 'I hate her so much because she cheated on me'," she mimed in a deadpan tone that was completely at odds with the content of her speech. "It's not much of a surprise," she concluded.

She was right. She was _right._

Luna was taken aback, shocked to her core, and at the same time, deeply hurt that the issues were brought up by someone who didn't even know her aside from a few inconsequential pieces of information like her name. "More or less," she said with a bitter smile. "But half of those details are wrong. Your sources should be a bit more thorough." Her head hurt — all those painful memories were sweeping back into the front of her mind after so long of locking them up. Her cold smile stayed, unmoving and frozen on her features. "I like that you know almost everything. _Almost._ "

The purple-eyed mermaid stalked right up to Jasmine, lips curling back into a disdainful sneer. "You should be careful where you place your feet," the mermaid spat. "Some people don't like to revisit their past, or speak of it. Don't put yourself where you don't belong. I'm going out for a walk." She wanted to slap the girl badly, but she kept it in, delivering one final, stone cold glare at the Panthalassan girl, who was looking at her with an expression of deadpan indifference.

She spun on her heel, tossing her long, pale purple braid over her shoulder. "Don't worry," she sneered, not looking back as she walked towards the front door, glowering in anger. "I'll come back. I've gotten too soft," she practically spat. _Of course,_ she sneered to herself, _I thought I made new friends, I always do, and they always hurt me. Always._ A scowl twisted her expression further. _Just like they did. They always hurt me!_ She stormed out, slamming the door on her way.

When she stormed out, a little part of her started to regret it, but Luna was still incensed by the casual way Jasmine had managed to hit her where it hurt. She sighed, walking along the raised gravel pavement that had been made to resemble a cliff, bordering the ocean, and inhaling the fresh ocean air, the salty scent clearing her mind and reminding her of the ocean. Pressing her lips together, she finally allowed her mind to drift towards the others. Would they have followed her? Well, it didn't matter… or did it?

The mermaid shook her head, finally sighing as she stopped a good way away from the house, staring out at the calm surface of the ocean. _I should head back now, darn it…They'll be worrie— I mean, I might miss out on important things…_ Nodding, she repeated her thoughts to convince herself, and cast the house a worried glance. _But this time, I need to control my actions better. People… we get distracted by emotions too easily._ She shook her head in dismay.

By the time Luna finally decided to walk back, someone was calling her name. A raise of her head showed the Panthalassan girl outside, raising a hand at her. "Hey, Moony!" she shouted. "You alright?"

Luna was silent for a few beats, then responded. "… Jasmine." She walked over to the dark-haired girl, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Why are you out here?" she asked, blinking. The pale purple-haired girl turned her gaze onto the calm ocean, watching the moonlight play over the rippling water.

"Waiting for you." Her voice was slightly deadpan, but there was the barest hint of a smile on the taller girl's face. She whistled as she looked at the full moon, her hands clasping behind her back. Her face was highlighted by the silver beams of the moonlight, and this time, the smile was much more prominent. "It's a real beautiful sight, isn't it, Moon Face?"

The purple mermaid followed her gaze and looked up at the moon too. "You sure like calling me names." She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. "I don't like it," she admitted. "It reminds me of the colors of jail. You could say… that it was the moon's fault for giving me away; the sun's for always giving me hope." She shook her head, snorting scornfully. "Either way, it's too painful once you reach them. The moon gives no life, the sun burns with light."

"Nicknames come and they go," Jasmine said with a careless shrug of her shoulders. "I do that because I don't interact with people for as long as I've done with the rest of you, strange as it may sound." In the corner of Luna's eyes, the Panthalassan turned to look at her. "So, I really did get a jackpot there. How… coincidental." She shook her head, exhaling slowly. "You know, there's a song from the Atlantic, berating the sun for its cruelty and praising the moon."

The mermaid frowned. "Well… you got some parts of it right. I'll tell you the rest if I feel like it. And… I don't like songs. They can be boring."

"Hey!" The door suddenly slammed, and the short-haired strawberry blonde that was Helen raced up, huffing in indignation with a red face. "Why did you leave me behind?!" she complained.

"Sorry about that," Luna said bluntly, not sorry at all. "I needed time to cool off."

"Why not jump into the water?"

Jasmine snorted as soon as the pink mermaid said that. "Did you take that literally, kid?"

The mermaid smirked, an idea finding its way to the forefront of her mind. "Why not?" she echoed. "Jasmine will go in first." Her smirk widening, she used her body as well as her hands to shove the Panthalassan face first into the waves that were crashing onto the side of the gravel pavement, watching with a delightedly wicked grin as the girl was caught off guard, sent into the rising tide.

"I was trying to be helpful," Helen was saying, pouting. A grin lit up her face when the Panthalassan was sent into the sea, and she turned to beam cheerily at Luna. "You, I like you," the blonde mermaid said quickly, amused.

"Oi!" Two pale hands shot out of the surface of the water, closing around their ankles , and giving a sharp yank, pulling both Luna and Helen back first into the water.

Luna yelped in surprise when she was suddenly soaked and she turned back into her mermaid form, but as quickly as it came, she started laughing, doubling over with giggles and chuckles while she contented herself with laughing at Jasmine's expense. The corner of her purple eyes were creased in laughter, the smile that curved her lips almost hurting. The mermaid turned to Jasmine, snickering.

"That was uncalled for!" Helen protested furiously, arms by her side and hands in fists. Her cheeks were blown out, and she looked positively indignant. She continued shouting at the Panthalassan with a huff, and finally folding her arms over her chest.

The purple mermaid looked at the two, smiling until two figures changed before her eyes. Jasmine was replaced by a slender mermaid with long orchid hair, and Helen with curly mulberry hair, making her do a double take to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She shook her head, rubbing at her eyes. _I didn't kill Rachael, I didn't, I didn't… I can have friends now, I want to have friends. I don't care what they say, I didn't do it!_

"Something the matter?" Jasmine asked, looking slightly worried.

Luna put on a false smile, shaking her head once more. "Nothing," she dismissed. "Next time, I'll get you for what you did." She smiled, and there was a sincere spark of amusement in her eyes. _Yeah, I can have friends now. They're my friends. They are my friends. I already have friends._

* * *

Read, review, and provide constructive criticism.


	6. Alignments: Chapter 5

After an entire year working near solely on Souls, I finally come back to finish this chapter. It's a mighty seven thousand words long, and we're almost ready to draw to a close on the first arc! I promise I'll try to get up the final chapter of Alignments before the year ends.

In the meantime, enjoy the story.

* * *

Helen had been having quite the day, she would think. Between meeting all these people in the kingdom of no foreigners, then that strange mark from the Fates, and then the strange guy who had attacked them, and _then_ meeting Her Majesty Aqua Regina, not to mention, learning that she had been chosen for some grand design of the Fates to save the world and whatnot… Oh, it was getting hard to track the events, alright, and all that was just within one day! Not even, as she reminded herself. Just a few hours had passed, and everything that was going on was making her head spin.

Being pulled into the water by one of the two scary girls she had met that day was certainly topping that list of 'things that were confusing her', at least, for now.

"I thought I was going to die," the strawberry blonde groused, tossing her head a little to push her long hair away from her face, as it had been since it was lengthened back to her natural dramatic curls from the practical bob she had as a human. Her bright blue eyes locked firmly onto Jasmine as she huffed, resurfacing to breathe in the cool night air. Oh, sweet ocean goddess, she missed the ocean, even if she had only left it for an hour or so.

The Panthalassan girl scoffed as she followed Helen back to the surface of the water, lifting her wet hair out of her face and slicking the short black locks back to leave her face unobscured. "Both of you are mermaids," she dismissed in a deadpan tone. "You know you'll breathe fine underwater. Not like you'd die, aye?" She frowned as a clump of short hair fell right back down between her eyes, but shrugged and left it as it was.

Helen threw the girl a glare for stating the obvious, her brow knitting together as she puffed her cheeks out in indignation at the statement. "I said 'I _thought_ '!" she exclaimed angrily, raising her tail out of the water to smack it onto the surface, sending a big wave towards Jasmine.

Jasmine sank underwater, avoiding the wave, but not before throwing Helen a cheeky-looking grin and a content laugh.

Luna surfaced only moments after, laughing again after a strange, unexpected silence from her. The mermaid grinned at the two of them, not bothering to remove her ever-present hair from her right eye at all. "I know, but you were sudden. Very quick. It's pretty amazing, you know?" The corners of her lips lifted into a smirk as she glanced at Jasmine. "Even if you took me by surprise back there." The mermaid huffed at the statement.

"Being quick is better than being dead," Jasmine quipped as she resurfaced, only to have to quickly duck under again as Luna splashed her with a wave. "Hey!" She looked vaguely annoyed at being interrupted when she broke the surface of the water again, shooting Luna a nasty glare. "Like I was saying, merc work and being who I am in foreign kingdoms needs me to be quick or it's goodbye."

Luna snorted at the black-haired girl. "Let's gang up on her!" she called to Helen, and with a nasty-looking grin, she sent a big wave at Jasmine with her tail, looking positively gleeful to be splashing the taller girl like that.

Helen pouted as Jasmine ducked again, an indignant look on her face as she felt water splash her from behind. "Hey!" she cried out, turning around as quickly as she could to catch Jasmine right behind her. She smacked the surface of the disturbed water with her cerise tail fin, creating a medium-sized wave that chased after the Panthalassan at a dangerous speed.

"Oh, I can't believe I'm acting like a child again," Jasmine muttered, her tone light but her words complaining, even if she was faintly smiling at the exchange. She ducked underwater again, escaping the wave, but this time, she didn't resurface. It wasn't hard to guess that she was probably heading away from the two mermaids now.

The purple mermaid dashed past Helen in a blitz of lilac and faded white, diving into the water and trying to catch up to Jasmine. "I can't believe it too!" she called, looking back over her shoulder to look at Helen. "This is the most fun I've had in years! Come on, Helen! Let's catch her!" She dived underwater again.

Not wanting to lose sight of either of the duo, the strawberry blonde mermaid got straight to it, easily swimming past Luna and reaching Jasmine — who had chosen to run on the seabed rather than swim — in a matter of strokes of her tail. The girl hadn't really been the fastest, but her petite build made her more streamlined and let her swim much faster than her taller peers. "Luna, corner her on this side!" she commanded, keeping her arms to her side as she fought to keep up with Jasmine, who had begun to run faster and into erratic directions.

The Panthalassan suddenly jumped up mid-sprint after changing directions once more, catching Helen off-guard as the mermaid scrambled to stop charging in the direction she had just been going in.

"We'll get you!" Luna called with a snarl that sounded patently false and even a little bit playful. Evidently a bit more skilled than Helen was at maneuvering underwater, she shot upwards after Jasmine with nary but a slight collision with Helen as their tails bumped against each other. "Stop running!" she ordered, a laugh entering her tone.

This game of tag was becoming ridiculous, but Helen didn't mind it at all. It was becoming so insanely fun that the blonde wondered why she never did it when she was younger. Oh well, that was something to think about later. _Gonna win this one!_ she declared triumphantly in her head, chasing after Jasmine as the bump with Luna set her on the right path, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with determination to catch the other.

Jasmine slowed down, almost mockingly turning around to shoot them a grin, but when Helen was sure she could reach her by stretching out her arms, she shot off again with a cocky laugh that just further fuelled Helen's determination. "Aww," she taunted, grinning, "did the widdle babies think they could catch me?"

"We're gonna get you!" Helen shouted, reiterating Luna's earlier statement. She had no plan in mind, save for one thing, really… She began swimming in circles, trying to create a whirlpool with her speed. She was getting a little dizzy when she realized she had succeeded, and with a Cheshire grin, she shot right out of the middle, watching her handiwork with a satisfied look. It was getting bigger by the minute, and she had no means to control it, but she hoped no one would get hurt.

"You two are _insane_!" Jasmine yelled at the two, but an amused laugh could be heard as she moved further back from the whirlpool, only to be tackled by Luna into a sudden hug soon after. "Hey!" she shouted, trying to throw off the mermaid. "Get off me, you loon!"

"Insane? Said who?" the Antarctic mermaid playfully declared with a loud, boisterous laugh. Even Jasmine seemed to be having trouble shaking her off, though not for the lack of trying, it seemed. "No way!" Luna retorted with a snicker. "You should feel honored that I'm tackle-hugging you, friend!"

Helen laughed at the black-haired girl's predicament, trying to act the role of the villain, though the simple fact that she was unable to maintain control over the monster of the whirlpool she herself had created just shattered any and all resemblances she could muster. "You asked for it!" she announced with a grin, attempting to put as much flamboyance into that simple sentence as she could, though it fell flat as she laughed aloud. _Eh?_ Helen pondered over Luna's words. _Does that mean she considers me a friend too?_ It was surprising for her to notice that over simple hours, they had already grown on her.

As Helen inched closer to Jasmine and Luna, and at the same time, moved further away from the gradually expanding whirlpool that she had formed, she heard the awkward laughter from the Panthalassan girl. She looked over, seeing the pale girl gently pat Luna on the back and awkwardly attempt to return the hug. Her dark blue eyes flickered over to Helen and locked gazes with the mermaid. 'Help me', Jasmine mouthed to Helen with a slightly panicked look on her face.

Abruptly, just as Helen thought it was fine to relax, Luna tore away from Jasmine, making a break for it as the purple mermaid dashed off past Helen, shouting, "Helen can't control the freakin' whirlpool! Make a break for it!" With that cry, she dashed off like a pale lilac bolt of lightning, laughing like a maniac.

"It's not like I can't control it now," Helen protested with a laugh, trying to use the laughter to hide her inward cry of defeat. That monster was getting bigger. She dreaded to think of what would happen if it got further out of control. "I was never in control of it in the first place." _Yeah, that's not an excuse, Helen,_ she scolded herself.

A hand around her wrist made her glance back up at Jasmine as the Panthalassan girl walked past her, brushing off her clothes. "Come on, Helen," she said, "we don't want anyone getting hurt here." She offered the blonde a little chuckle at the situation as she let go, nodding after Luna.

Helen just continued her nervous laughter, anxiously admiring from afar as her creation just got more and more dangerous. "So, uh, what're we gonna do from here?" she asked, making a face as she stared at the rapidly growing whirlpool. _Oh gosh._

"Get out of the water?" Jasmine idly suggested, the girl running a hand through her short black hair as she observed the scene. "That thing'll calm down by morning, give or take some time, after all." She caught up with Luna as the Antarctic mermaid slowed down and stopped, looking at the whirlpool from afar.

"Agreed," Helen said with a sigh. She had no choice but to accept defeat in this matter now, she supposed, but it still stung a little to have to do it. She had auto-defeated herself with that statement, though. Jeez, how pathetic. "I'm not not sorry," she mumbled, hoping the double negative would help mask the fact that she was apologizing. Was it obvious to the others that she didn't like to do it? Well, it wasn't as if she did it on purpose; create the whirlpool, that was.

"It's easy to get rid of a whirlpool," Luna said with a confident smile, swimming closer to the thing very, very daringly. "You just have to spin in the opposite direction—gah!" she cried in surprise as she swam too close, her hair and tail fin getting caught in the strong outer currents of the whirlpool. "Helen!" the lilac-tailed mermaid cried in surprise. "I'll get you for this if I get injured!"

"Luna!" Helen shouted out, but before she could dive forward herself, Jasmine was already on it, holding an arm out to hold her back as the Panthalassan shot forward, a blur of black and blue that looked barely be visible to the naked eye.

An apology really wasn't going to cut it this time, was it?

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

" _I can't control it! Help!"_

 _A loud scream filled an empty cavern, occupied only by five mermaids with hair and tails of various purples. They had been chasing each other, but one of the quintet's cries had drawn the other girls' attention back to her._

 _A young lilac mermaid anxiously swam towards her friend, reaching out a hand to try and grab the orchid mermaid's hand as what was once a small whirlpool got out of hand, trying to consume the other mermaids and bring them into the chaos that was the center of the growing whirlpool._

" _Sophia, spin the other way!" the lilac mermaid cried to another mermaid, a younger one with mulberry hair and tail. "I can't reach you!"_

" _I-I can't!" the girl cried, nearly ready to burst into tears. "I can't! Help me!"_

 _The orchid mermaid looked back at the lilac one, a determined look entering warm purple eyes. "I'll go and save her," she told the other firmly. "I'll be fine." And with that, she pulled herself free of the lilac mermaid's hold, diving right back into the fray. "I'm coming, Sophia! Just hold on for a bit!"_

"—una! Hey, Luna! I'm coming!"

Luna's purple eyes snapped back into focus as she jerked herself from the memory, seeing Jasmine breach the strong currents of the whirlpool to reach the eye of the storm. What was she doing? She was going to—going to… A sharp pain shot through her left shoulder, and her features contorted together in an expression of pain. The whirlpool was carrying her along in circles, and she was getting dizzy.

A pale hand reached out to her, faintly covered in scars, but though Luna tried her best to reach out, her left arm refused to listen, and her right arm was simply too far away to be able to do anything. Jasmine suddenly shot forward, and as her hands clamped down on Luna's right shoulder, she was pulled free of the currents, and both of them tumbled outwards onto the ground, Jasmine thankfully ending up cushioning Luna's fall so her already injured arm wasn't jostled more.

"Thanks," Luna muttered, pulling herself back up. "I can't swim the other way like I did when I was a little younger," she said with a huff, though immediately, she cringed as it moved her arm. "I think the currents may have dislocated my arm or something… other than that, though, I'm fine, I think. Just a little shoulder. I'm fine." The lilac mermaid tried to move her arm and instantly regretted the decision. "Thanks."

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes, slowly picking herself up and dusting herself off. "Can you swim?" she asked. She didn't wait for Luna to answer, though, and after a quick scrutinizing, she shook her head and carefully picked the mermaid up, carefully avoiding Luna's left arm. "Scratch that."

Luna huffed, letting the Panthalassan carry her over to the shore, where Helen was pacing. "I could swim," she muttered.

Jasmine ignored the statement as they finally reached the shore. She set Luna down onto the ground and winced, rolling her shoulders. "How much do you weigh?" she jabbed, though an amused tone crept into her voice at Helen's bemused glance. "You weigh a bloody ton, and that's saying something!"

The Antarctic mermaid laughed a little as she transformed back into her human form, nursing her injured arm, a mock pout coloring her lips. "I ate a lot after I got out of my problems," she said with a huff. "Plus, I'm a chef. _So_ sorry about that." The sass, she hoped, was tangible. "And I'm not that heavy." At that, she broke out into a grin and laughed despite the pain in her arm.

"Yeah right…" Jasmine rolled her dark blue eyes, scoffing in amusement at her statement.

"It's true, you know! I bet you're heavier than I am!" Luna said with a smirk. She turned to Helen and smiled. "So, I'm a little hurt, but I'm in a good mood," she said cheerfully. "Bygones be bygones?"

The blonde didn't pause to even think about it. "Deal."

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

Shelia yawned lazily as she surfaced from the water, having loosely followed the group, but not before she had gone hunting. Her fiery red heels sank into the dense, wet sand, much to her annoyance, but it couldn't be helped. The water demon strolled on along to the trio that stood at the edge of the water, willing her fins and horns to vanish despite how much she wanted to let it stay like that.

"Oh, so you're here," she said out loud, purposefully trying to draw their attention as she pushed to control her lisp. The redhead braced her hands on her hips, her claws lightly tapping on her studded belt. "You just left me there, alone, huh? Ah well, I had a chance to hunt for some fish while chasing after all of you, so not all was lost." She leaned her weight onto one hip, rolling her bright yellow eyes.

One of the two mermaids – Luna, Shelia reminded herself – glanced at her with violet eyes and spoke, her right arm nursing the left, "That's good. You seem to like things fresh and raw." Her arm was hurt, somehow, but Shelia didn't smell blood. Probably just a dislocation, though, from the way she was holding it.

"That I do; it's a demon thing," the redhead said with a nod, flashing a grin with sharp teeth despite being in a human-like form. "So, what happened to you girls? You look like you've been through hell!" she exclaimed, the thought of a battle exciting her despite the fact that she had missed it. She took a closer look at them – only Luna was injured, though the Panthalassan girl, Jasmine, looked disheveled as well.

"Helen here," Luna nodded her head at the flustered blonde behind her, "decided that it would be fun to create a gigantic whirlpool and it ended up catching me up in it." If her left arm wasn't injured, she'd probably be gesturing. She stopped, leaning forward a little and squinting. "You can still see it too."

Shelia's arched brows rose in surprise. "That was your doing?" she inquired. "I did see it, from a distance as I came up here. Wondered what such a thing would be doing so near the shore. You kids just started wrecking stuff as soon as possible?"

"She started it." Luna was pointing at Jasmine now, the latter of which looked somewhat affronted at having the blame for the situation pinned on her.

Helen fidgeted with her fingers, looking away as she blew out her cheeks in what Shelia supposed was indignation. "It was _supposed_ to end just like that." She sounded a little apologetic, though the demon could see the hint of pride that lit up her blue eyes.

"Try to control it next time," Luna said to her. She shook her head after a moment, muttering something that Shelia couldn't catch without her fins being present.

"Will see what I can do," Helen answered, her voice sincere and honest.

Shelia moved her arms, crossing them in front of her chest, though still cocking a hip. "Don't put yourselves in danger for nothing," she cautioned. Especially since those two weren't involved in dangerous business like she and Jasmine were. The Panthalassan girl could probably be trusted not to do anything too foolhardy, Shelia figured. "Generally not a very good idea."

"We know that," Luna snarled, a scowl on her face now.

Shelia chuckled in amusement at how quickly the mermaid's attitude changed from friendly to hostile. "Psshhht," her lisp wasn't making the sound any better, "don't get mad, kiddo." Shelia chuckled. "Just teaching you bunch… So, why were you all out here to begin with?" She'd like to have a reason as to why she was made to follow them all the way up to the surface, at least.

"Jasmine was being mean!" Helen protested with a pout. She huffed, turning away from Shelia in what could only be indignation. "I followed Jasmine and Kazi up here."

Luna didn't seem to take the redhead's comment well either. "Aren't we allowed to be?" she shot at the demon, a scowl on her face. "It was a small stroll outside; a walk!" As soon as she finished, the mermaid recoiled, frowning at something.

Jasmine decided to give Shelia a proper answer, the dark-haired girl having chosen to remain silent for the better part of the exchange. She folded her arms over her chest, almost languidly rolling her dark blue eyes. "Luna decided that it would be funny to shove me into the water for a moonlight dip," she said sarcastically. She reached a hand out to lightly smack Helen on the shoulder. "And don't give me that look. You were the one who brought up going into the bloody water at this late… or early, it looks like."

She was right – Shelia could see a big orange ball about to peak up beyond the sea's surface. Jeez, had it really been hours since the whole thing had started?

"Gosh," the redhead said, rolling her eyes playfully, "just don't get yourself killed." She frowned, her playful, teasing tone shifting. "So, hey, what's the plan now?" she asked. "We _do_ have a plan, right?" She couldn't stop the mocking words that followed, not that she really bothered to. "Nah, of fucking course we don't."

Neither Luna nor Helen seemed enthusiastic about that statement, and almost as if they wanted to avoid the topic, they headed off inside.

"I'd prefer to have a plan, of course," Jasmine deadpanned, bracing her hands on her hips as she met Shelia's yellow gaze. "But, of course, we seem to be rather…" she paused as if searching for a word to use, "…lost, in what comes next."

"Wasn't something said about the Arctic?" Shelia interjected. "Think we should go there?" The demon tapped her claws against her skin in thought. "I mean, I really would rather not, but Her Almighty Lightiness or _whatever_ hinted us in that direction. Unless she's trying to get us killed, 'course, sending us to the damn Arctic." The demon scowled deeply at that statement – the Arctic wasn't just dangerous, it was a damn death sentence, especially for her and her kind.

Jasmine grunted in agreement, the black-haired girl pursing her lips into a thin line as she assumed a thoughtful position, her eyes narrowed and brows furrowed tightly together. "You, Kazi and I are going to be on the short end of the stick," she figured, "and Lila will draw attention, even if she's not mistaken for one of us. And we still have another major problem too, without even getting into trying to enter the Arctic without getting killed." A heavy sigh left Jasmine. "Of all places," she muttered begrudgingly, "why does it have to be the Poles?"

"Think we're gonna meet more of those crazy evil people?" Shelia asked after shrugging at Jasmine's initial assessment. Evil was a term a lot of people threw around, but the redhead didn't think any other word fit better to describe the lot. "I mean, the throne guy was probably part of something bigger, according to the damn goddess wench. Just what's gonna come next, huh? If we don't get killed or jailed or something in the Arctic," as unlikely as it was, "do we get eaten by a damn villain next?"

The following scowl from the Panthalassan girl told Shelia that nothing good was going to be said before the girl even said it. "Sloth is one of the traditional Seven Sins, Red," Jasmine responded after a momentary pause, her scowl deep. "There's bound to be more." The way she said it was in a slight matter-of-fact manner, but her expression said that she was hoping to be wrong.

"Seven of us, seven Princesses, seven Sins; I see a pattern here and I don't like it," Shelia admitted, a frown coloring her lips. "Oh, dang it, if that's the case, I'm just gonna… I don't even _know_!" She threw her hands up in defeat, shaking her head. Smoothing back her red curls out of her face, she continued, "So, I guess we have another Sinner waiting in the Arctic along with all the other kind of threats to our lives, huh?"

"After seeing what Lazy had in store for us, I think we signed out own death warrants," Jasmine replied idly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Going to the Arctic is a death wish in and of itself, but I suppose that's what the Fates want from us, right?" She shook her head and huffed. "The worst thing that could happen is the mermaids seeing us, especially the Arctic army. They're as vicious as they get and they want our blood. I'm sure that we can take on a few squads, but if they mobilize an entire battalion… yeah, that's something I can't do anything about.

Ohhh, that wouldn't be a scenario that Shelia would have been happy to find herself in. Aren wouldn't be glad with her for going along without a plan either, maybe. The old woman was always harping on about training, and she was always ignoring that… Still, though, Aren would have probably agreed that going along with the Fates would be the thing to do. It still didn't mean that she liked it.

"We're in trouble," the demon stated quite bluntly, stifling an urge to groan and smack her face. "Oh yeah, and if we're right and there are seven villains to us, if they're all as strong as the dude we fought, then we sure as hell better hope they won't unite as well."

Jasmine managed a weak smile that seemed a little forced. "I hope that they don't," she said in response. "And we still need to search for the last of us, too… if we only have six of us, that can't be right. The Fates mentioned something about being united and divided or something along those lines, yeah? Maybe together we have some sort of crazy power… or something. Just… not singing." She frowned, making a face at the idea. "I'm not exactly good at it."

Speaking of singing, though… "You know what's kind of surreal to me?" Shelia asked the other girl. "I need to work in a group of seven. Because we all know that the best things come in twos." She held up two clawed fingers to emphasize her point better. "Hell, I have to save the damn world when I'm not even complete yet! Everything I've learned has changed." She snapped her fingers in the air. "Just like that."

Blue eyes snapped over her, analyzing and vaguely confused in their gaze. "You look pretty damn complete to me, Red," Jasmine remarked. "Unless you mean that you're still looking for a partner of some sort." Bingo, she hit the nail right on the head.

"If I'm 'Red', then I mean 'Blue'," Shelia explained, leaning forward a little with a hand on her hip. "It hasn't been the right time for her to come to me, yet, but she will, someday, or I'll go to her. We're destined to be together, us sisters. You lot might not know of the demon legends of this bloodline. I might be powerful now, but on my own, I'm nothing. I need my sister."

The demon hadn't expected Jasmine to know what she was talking about, but recognition seemed to appear in the other girl's dark blue eyes. "Red and blue, hmm? You're an anglerfish," she said, "aren't you? Like the Black Beauty Sisters from the generation of the Guardian Princesses."

Shelia grinned in excitement at the mention of her predecessors. "Oh, you know of them? My predecessors, surely they were memorable people," she stated, her yellow eyes gleaming in excitement. "Ah, just hearing about the way that they fought their battles and refused to back down… so admirable!" Her eyes glistened as she spoke. "I am an anglerfish, yes. _The_ red anglerfish, in fact! I am the next Red sister after them in a tradition that has lasted as long as our kind has! I've heard so much about all kinds of ancestors and their deeds, but the Black Beauty Sisters were truly something else."

Her red lips were pulled into a frown, then, as she thought of something else. "However, it seems that I'm still on my own, incomplete…" She was already eighteen, and if her partner was yet to be born, that was just unthinkable!" The age gap will be quite huge this time, it appears." She sighed at the thought.

"I'll be frank with you, Red," Jasmine said, a sharp, mirthless grin on her face at Shelia's statement. "What I've managed to read about your predecessors is anything but flattering, but that's to be expected, I suppose. Mermaid literature cannot claim to be unbiased. Atlantic Academy's library had a personal memoir of the Green Guardian Princess, or so it claimed. I… snuck into the restricted section and read it once or twice. They were a team of backstabbing traitors, or so the memoir claimed, though she did hold a much higher opinion of Mimi than Sheshe, for whichever reason."

Shelia wasn't surprised in the slightest by that – the mermaids were always so judgmental, and it wasn't like they had never caused any atrocities either. She hummed in acknowledgement of what Jasmine had said. "I know the mermaids would have a lot to say, but I trust the judgment of my predecessors over any of those silly mermaids." She chuckled at the notion of her trusting a mermaid's opinion – now that was just hilarious. "I've read their memoirs, you know? Those of my predecessors. They were ambitious and cunning for sure, and I find it really admirable."

She paused a moment to let it sink in for the other, younger girl, and clasped her clawed hands together. "I _do_ know what Mimi did as well, though. She documented it quite thoroughly in her personal journal. It was pretty unusual, I admit, but she was a friend of Her Holy Brightness, under rather unusual circumstances. While Sheshe, my direct predecessor, made huge sacrifices for her kin, to the point of facing the Ancient Mikeru himself despite knowing that it meant certain doom! Whatever Greenie said about them was simply what she, a mermaid, thought." Shelia stopped for a brief second, and continued, "And you know how the mermaids have viewed our kind, yours and mine, based on actions at war."

And if Shelia was to be honest, despite not quite caring much about the states of affairs in the mermaid kingdoms, she knew that the Ocean War – the First Ocean War, because there was bound to be another – hadn't helped in the slightest when it concerned the status of Panthalassans and demons in the marine world. Why, she would have thought it was better if they had stuck to their own kind to form communities, but apparently, that wasn't the case for many.

"You have a point," Jasmine acquiesced with a casual shrug of the shoulders, "but I never took much care about those kinds of things in the end, especially not when I was in school." She grimaced. "Everyone is judgmental, but those mermaids are especially so, even if they're in friendly areas like the Atlantic." She walked past Shelia to stand at the edge of the water, looking out at the horizon as the sun rose into the air. She raised a hand to shelter her eyes. "They've been dominating the oceans for so long that they think they've got the right to do so. I wish things were black and white, sometimes. Everything would be much easier."

"Mhm." Shelia nodded to her point and walked over, joining her. The light was bright, but not unbearably so like the Ocean Goddess was, just the kind of light that made it a little hard to see. "I wonder if they'll ever stop dominating the oceans, honestly. As long as their Royals and the Goddess and all the other rulers too are mermaids, they're gonna have the upper hand," she muttered, a hint of bitterness clear in her voice. "I wouldn't mind sharing the seas with them if we were their equals in society, but it appears that for some," like the Poles, "just merely not murdering us on sight is too much to be acceptable."

She saw Jasmine's jaw tighten as the girl grit her teeth, a scowl on her face. "Maybe some of that blame falls onto the Panthalassa Clan," the Panthalassan girl muttered, her gaze shifting to the shore. "The older history books say that there was once a time when demons, mermaids and the Clan could live in peace. It was a very long time ago, granted. Then the Panthalassan Revolution happened five millennia ago; something about the royal family losing their prestige and power, and letting the military commanders assume power. Aqua Regina stepped in then and sealed the entire clan away."

"Hah," Shelia muttered, no sense of triumph in her voice. "It's utterly ridiculous, I swear. A war happened in ancient times, one side won, and even today, the side that lost, and those that helped them, has to be punished for it. It's completely ridiculous." She scuffed the sand below her platform heels in frustration, growling.

Jasmine seemed to find something amusing about the situation, as her next addition held a bit of mirth. It was mocking, regardless, but she sounded entertained by whatever she had in mind. "And let's not forget that the mermaids only won because they had a goddess on their side. That same goddess now has to depend on us, a team comprised of at least two Panthalassans and a demon, to save her world." She gave a short bark of laughter at the irony of the situation. "She's not the same person, but the principle of it, that's just… ridiculous."

Shelia paused, taking in that bit of information, and she too laughed. That was true – it really was ridiculous. The demon sighed a little as she glanced out at the rising sun and the pale blue sky – it was early in the day, but it was already daylight. It was almost surprising how quickly time had passed.

The demon pursed red lips together. Maybe she could get used to this.

 _ **Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch**_

The Panthalassan Revolution.

Just hearing the mention of that made Kazi grimace. Five millennia and it still hadn't helped him a bit whenever it came to that accursed war. The total devastation of his people still managed to haunt him in dreams and living nightmares, he swore, even when it seemed like everything was fine.

The man shook himself out of the memories and cleared his throat, speaking up from the doorway to his house, where he had been standing and observing both the girls outside. "If you're going to hang around, do come in. It's rude to loiter." He moved to the side, nodding towards the living room, where both Luna and Helen had gone.

Jasmine glanced back over her shoulder at him. "Sorry," she called back, making to walk away from the shore and back towards the house. The sun was climbing higher in the sky at this point too, and the girl shielded her eyes from the daylight with a grimace. "I think we'll keep that in mind in the future."

Kazi just shook his head, leaning against the door. "Care to come inside?"

"Alright." Glancing back at the demon, who was still looking out over the sea, they spoke quickly before Jasmine walked on without her, letting the redhead stay there for a while longer. "Sorry for walking out like that earlier. Helen was outside," the girl said to him as she passed, walking inside.

"It's quite alright," the man said, dismissing it quickly. They had been reading for a while, after all – or more accurately, he had been letting her soak in some of the more essential bits of information about their kind. It would help if she had any form of basic training, but as far as he knew, it was close to none. He could work with that, though. "Ready to continue? We can move on to the practical portion now."

Jasmine thought about it, pausing for a while as they walked past the two mermaids and the Ancient, all three seated on the couch and talking to each other. She nodded. "Sure, why not?" she muttered. "I've got to admit, though, it seemed simple in theory, but it's… complicated… to get to it," she said, seemingly unsure about her choice of words. She shrugged.

"It will become easier with practice," Kazi assured her. And he was more than certain that she'd get a lot of practice with the events that would possibly come up soon. "I taught you to bring forth your power before. Now you'll have to learn to control it. That will be the hardest part of the beginning, but once you surmount that obstacle, your path will be much easier to travel," he described.

"I guess I had better get started if that's the case. There seems to be a lot to learn," the black-haired girl muttered. She sighed. "How hard can it be?" she muttered to herself, her shoulders dropping slightly as Kazi led her into an empty room.

The Panthalassan man would have preferred to reinforce the room just in case of any _accidents_ , but on short notice, the empty room would work fine. "This room will do," he acknowledged with a nod of the head, directing Jasmine into the middle of the white-walled room. "Now, focus on the power inside you. Draw it out, _slowly_ ," he stressed. That part was so important that it was hard to describe how. He couldn't count how many people who hadn't remembered that had gotten severely injured by the backlash.

She nodded. "Right, slowly. Got it." She closed her eyes, cupping her hands together. It wasn't long before the crest of the Panthalassa Clan, an intricately glowing golden cross, manifested on her brow.

So far, so good. "Focus on the power," Kazi instructed, watching her. "Let it take a shape of your choosing and mold it with your will. Try and form a sphere with it." Magic tended to run wild and free without direction, while the basis of spell work was the force it into a certain pattern, hence why the exercise was one of the first steps needed. As with everything, though, there was also a middle ground; guide the magic as was needed and use force to conquer it if it tries to defy, but never force it where it can't obey. The consequences would be messy at best.

"Right, a sphere," Jasmine repeated, inhaling deeply, opening her eyes to confirm before she closed them again. Sparks of electricity danced at her fingertips, and it swirled into her cupped hands like it was liquid, shaping itself into a rough sphere before the corners and edges smoothed themselves out, correcting into a near perfect shape.

Kazi nodded in approval – it wasn't the best result he had supervised before, but she was certainly doing above average. Now, if she could maintain that standard, the basics would be no trouble for her. "Very good for a first try," he told her. "This is an important exercise in controlling our powers. With practice, it will become second nature to you." He himself replicated the exercise, calling forth a glowing white sphere of light, a perfectly proportioned shape with no imperfections visible to the eye. It radiated warmth and glittered under the room's lighting.

She stared down at the dark sphere that swirled in her hands, darkening and lightening, but always remaining a deep purplish-blue hue. "I'll keep that in mind," she said, looking up and glancing at his sphere and her own. "Is this going to pose a problem?" she asked quizzically, more than likely referring to the stark difference between the two of the,

"Your orientation is different from mine," the white-haired man explained, seeing the look in her eyes. "You are Dark, I am Light. It's a minor difference in our people, as the only ones I know of that can be either of one or the other. It's hard to say whether it will be a major problem or not. The main difference will be as to what we tend towards, of course."

She frowned as she heard that, brow furrowing. "In the end, it's all the same, right?" she asked.

"It should be, essentially," Kazi waved off. "Though those who align under Dark are more intended for sheer destruction. The power of Dark Panthalassans is more often than not chaotic, but despite that, it's very powerful even if you're unused to it. In comparison, Light Panthalassans tend more towards healing and shielding and leans towards order." He noted the expression on her face – mildly annoyed, more so just frustrated, and added, "It's not a bad thing. You'll be more powerful when it comes to direct attacks than I am."

Jasmine sighed – it seemed like he had managed to calm those worries – and conceded with a nod. "I suppose you're right. I just hope it doesn't mean an increased chance of being a psycho." She coughed, muttering something under her breath that Kazi didn't quite catch.

"Shall we continue?" Kazi offered, giving her a kind smile to try and ease her worries about the subject. In response to the questioning gaze he got, he continued, "Try changing the size of the sphere."

The girl stared down at the sphere of darkness she still held in her cupped hands and closed her eyes again. "Right." Slowly, the sphere expanded in size as she moved her hands apart, and after a small prompting from him, she let it shrink back to its original diameter.

"Keep the construct steady while changing its size and shape," he instructed next. "Doing them apart is easy. Don't keep it in a fixed state."

Another affirmative from the girl as she went back to concentrating. It was going well at first – the sphere flattening out into a vague cuboidal shape as well as expanding steadily in size. And then, abruptly, the dark construct began to flicker, the shape exploding outwards in what was best described as a shower of electric sparks. Thankfully, the majority of the dark energy surged backwards into Jasmine, vanishing and lessening the potential destruction.

"Great, I messed up," she groaned, looking down at her fingers and lightly flexing them with a grimace.

"You're still learning," Kazi corrected gently. "Don't worry about it. This technique helps one to learn to shape the energy we harness into our spells. It teaches control and focus. I didn't expect you to master it in one day, and nevertheless, you did remarkably well for a first try."

Jasmine paused to consider his words, then sighed. "You're right. I got too demanding of myself." She shook her head. "I do that a bit too much when I'm learning things, got to remember that I shouldn't be overzealous," she muttered as if chastising herself. She ran a hand through her dark hair, exhaling slowly.

"Do you want to rest," the man offered.

Reluctantly, she nodded. "Maybe that'd be good." She flexed her fingers with a grimace on her face. "I'll be fine in a couple of minutes," she promised, "so we can continue then. Just hope that the feeling in my fingers comes back by then."

Ahh, aftershock. He should have expected that – it usually happened without fail. He extended a hand over hers and muttered a quiet spell under his breath, letting his hand glow with a warm light that would ease the discomfort she was feeling. The light slowly receded after a few moments and he stood back, nodding to her.

Jasmine flexed her fingers, looking thankful. "Thanks," she commented with a grin, rubbing her wrist. "That's a handy little trick to have." She sounded more bemused than anything.

He chuckled in amusement. "It comes in handy, alright."

She nodded, and after a few more moments' pause, she exhaled sharply. "I'm ready," she clarified. "Let's get to it again."

"Alright. You know what to do now."

* * *

Read, review, and provide constructive criticism.


	7. Alignments: Chapter 6

Finally, the first arc is done! I don't know how much time I'll have to work on polishing up the RP posts for the rest of the first season, but I'll try my best, I hope. There was more editing in this chapter than normal, mainly to try and balance all the presences of the characters to make it more like a regular story, though it wasn't too much.

In the meantime, enjoy the story.

* * *

Luna had never seen a Panthalassan in person before all of this happened to her. She really wasn't ashamed to admit that — most mermaids had never met a Panthalassan in their entire lifetime, and being from where she was, it was a wonder she even knew what demons were like. Still, it had come with a pretty hefty cost, if she had to say so herself — being a convict of a crime she hadn't ever committed and having to stage a mass breakout to get free was not a small price to pay for the freedom to know whoever she wanted to.

That still didn't explain why she was peeking, though. Standing behind the not-quite-shut door — which opened inside, thankfully, so no chance of getting hit if the door opened — and looking through the opening to watch as the two resident Panthalassans practice. The display of colours that cast streaks of light — both a more soothing bright light and a harsh dark glow — across the room made her inside prickle in mild fear at the sight.

So this was what Panthalassans were capable of? It was just scary to think that Kazi knew all of this. And this was just the basics, he had said. What would the more advanced abilities look like? The hairs on the back of her neck were standing at the thought. Just what were the limits of what Kazi could do?

"That's good enough," Kazi said encouragingly to Jasmine, who nodded and let the blackish-purple snowflake she'd been manipulating in her hands vanish into thin air.

The girl immediately relaxed her stance, tension leaving her immediately as she clasped her hands together. "Great," she said with a heavy sigh. "That took more out of me than expected." She grimaced and raised a hand to flex her fingers.

The white-haired man laughed. "It's like that for the first few tries. You'll get used to it," he assured her. "Get some rest and don't push yourself too much. You've done exceptionally well for a first-try today."

Jasmine just frowned as she turned towards the door, which made Luna jump back automatically in fear of being found out, for some reason. The door opened and she walked outside, her blue gaze landing on the mermaid nevertheless. "Luna," she greeted with a small smile that was more tired than anything. She wiped her brow, grimacing at how her hair was sticking to her forehead. "Looking for something?"

The purple-haired mermaid quickly threw out her pre-prepared excuse. "Nothing much, just maybe a cast or something to wrap my broken arm in. It doesn't hurt that much, though, I've been through worse." _Like the awful labor they make the worst convicts do, and the emotional pain from everything else numbed a lot out._ "If you're still going to continue, can I watch?"

The dark-haired girl seemed to ignore the last part of the question. "I'm not sure if anyone would keep a cast around — though if anyone would, I'm sure he'd be the one," she muttered the last part in a low tone, "but he probably keeps medical supplied somewhere around here. It's just the smart thing to do, of course, and I'm certain that going to the hospital is a troublesome and idiotic idea…" she trailed off at the end with a frown. "I'll ask him if you want."

Luna nodded her thanks instead of replying with a verbal answer, feeling a warm feeling somewhere in her chest. These people were making her feel more welcome — more like a person — than she'd felt in months since she found her refuge in the North Pacific. It made her crack a little smile as Jasmine headed back inside the room to speak with the older man. It felt nice, and she supposed that she could get used to that.

"If you're looking for a first-aid kid, I have one under the sink in the bathroom, but we won't need it here," Kazi was saying as he made his way over with Jasmine. "It's been a while since I've had to heal someone other than myself, but thankfully, she's a mermaid, so this shouldn't be too hard. What's the injury again?"

"Broken arm. Maybe a dislocated shoulder too from a cursory glance, but hell if I can say for sure. I'm no doctor," the black-haired girl answered as they approached the door. She moved to lean against the door frame, folding her arms over her chest. "Does she need a splint?"

The white-haired man seemed to analyze Luna like some kind of scientist for a minute — which made her grimace at the comparison — then shook his head. "Small problem," he said. "You might want to snap the bone back into place if you can, though. I'm not the most delicate when it comes to this and I doubt Luna can do it herself. After that, it'll be a simple matter of mending the bone back together and she'll be right as rain."

Jasmine glanced over to the mermaid and Luna nodded once and then glanced towards her arm, trying to tell the girl to help her.

"Usually I'd do it myself, but it's kind of hard with one hand." She waved her good arm for emphasis. "It just clicks against the bone and the pain is worse for about ten seconds or so." The Antarctic mermaid held up her broken arm helplessly as she glanced up at the Panthalassan girl. She sighed. "Mind helping, please?" It stung to hold it like this, but she couldn't cry over this! She just wanted to be more like her child self, but that was too painful.

The girl sighed, mumbling to herself as she walked over, carefully taking Luna's injured arm in her hands with a certain gentleness that the mermaid hadn't anticipated from her movements. "This is _definitely_ going to sting," she said aloud. Bracing one hand above the fracture and one below, she barely gave Luna time to process and brace for the incoming pain before she shifted her hands and snapped the bone back into place with a crack.

Luna hissed like a cat, her shoulders locking together as she tried to jerk away, but Jasmine's grip was sufficiently firm, and it kept her from further jostling her arm than she had to. "It worked," she ground out through her grit teeth, her face contorted in pain. The pain from her arm ebbed away a little as Jasmine let go, and she sighed, her expression loosening up a little in relief. "Still hurts, though."

"Good job," Kazi said with a nod. "Now hold still, Luna," he instructed, a hand hovering above her arm, more specifically where the fracture had been. "This should be over soon." With an incantation muttered in a low voice, a soothing light enveloped her arm — though Jasmine made a point of shielding her eyes — and eased the pain from her injury. There was a mild discomfort as the bone reconnected and mended, but son the man took his hand away and the pain was entirely gone.

Luna slowly flexed her fingers, staring at her arm where the injury had been. "Thanks," she remembered to say when she finally found her voice again. "So where are we headed off to next?" she finally asked, putting down her arm again, thankful that not even a twinge of pain could be found from the action.

Kazi shrugged at the question and turned to look at Jasmine with a raised eyebrow.

The girl didn't even seem to pause as she thought about it. "It would be better if we discussed all this with everyone else, but the next course of action seems to be the Arctic," she began in a musing tone, her arms folded over her chest as she pursed her lips together. "But unless you've changed your mind about the Poles and we can find a way to avoid direct death by charging headfirst into hostile territory, we're just going to have to stay put for a while, I'm afraid."

The Antarctic mermaid frowned, grumbling, "I'll go if I have to." Her voice dropped substantially as she whispered to herself, hoping that neither of the other two could pick up on her statement. "It can't be worse than the Antarctic… plus, none of them will be shocked to see me hanging with non-mermaids… too racist…" She wrinkled her nose slightly at the reminder.

"You're from the Antarctic?" Kazi raised a brow. "I didn't think one of the purple mermaids would come so far out from her home. And your hair is white."

Luna flinched at the reminder even as Jasmine leaned in slightly closer. "Yeah, I'm an Antarctic mermaid… thought you guys would've known."

"Not white," the Panthalassan girl said, squinting a little. "Very light lilac. I nearly missed it myself. No one's going to see the difference unless they're really paying attention and they're close to you. That natural?"

"No. I don't like it that they've gotten so white," Luna said with a frown as she pulled on her braid with her good arm's hand — well, the arm that hadn't been broken before Kazi had healed her, anyway. "Mermaid genetics are strange. Mine are at least. My hair lost its color from the time I was… incarcerated. All the snow and ice ended up bleaching my hair white. It makes me stand out too much."

"Not everyone pulls off white hair," Jasmine said jokingly as she made to head back towards the living room. "Just look at Kazi."

"Oi! Was that supposed to be an insult?" Kazi called after her as he followed the girl.

"Took you long enough to notice it," the black-haired girl said with a smirk as she entered the living room.

"Where's Shelia?" Luna interjected as she followed after them. Glancing around the room, she only saw Lila and Helen sitting on the sofa, the younger girl leaning her head on the older's shoulder as they both dozed gently. Sleep actually sounded rather nice… the Antarctic mermaid had lost a few hours on all of this chaos.

Jasmine followed her glance before she moved towards the doorway. "I think Red's outside," she answered, opening the door to glance at the beach and quickly withdrawing under the sunlight of early dawn. "My eyes," she muttered with a groan.

Luna scoffed in amusement, a small smile on her face before she saw another image replace the taller girl — a magenta-haired mermaid drawing back after a prank had been pulled before proceeding to swim over to a younger Luna with glee and ruffle loose lilac hair. The Antarctic mermaid swallowed down the bile that had risen in the back of her throat, suddenly looking rather sick. No, she told herself firmly, not this time. If she wanted to change, she had to face the distress and consequences that came with it.

A hand on her shoulder had Luna quickly flinch away, turning around to see Kazi with a raised brow. "Are you alright, Luna?"

The mermaid nodded meekly and stepped away nonetheless. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Lighten up. I don't get hurt easily unless it's against her." She nodded towards Jasmine, who looked less than amused.

"Oh, hardy har har," Jasmine snarked, glaring at Luna for the statement, scowling as she folded her arms over her chest. "You were the ones who insisted on chasing me around!"

"Is that a challenge?" Luna asked, the mermaid's face suddenly wiped blank as a slate once more. "Because I can go back to normal if you want me to." Or maybe she was wrong and Jasmine was just teasing. The poor girl hoped that it was the case – she had finally found friends to rely on, after all.

 ** _Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch_**

If you asked Jasmine, the Panthalassan girl found how Luna could change expressions so quickly and completely unnatural and mildly concerning. The dead tone in the mermaid's voice made her wonder if the Antarctic mermaid wasn't all that mentally intact. Despite herself, she made the corner of her lips quirk into a small smirk, a little mocking and mostly teasing to mask her unease. "Could be, but it isn't. Deadpan tones work better with sarcasm, just so you know." She leaned back against the wall.

Luna tilted her head. "Ah… what?"

"I'll go and look for Shelia," Kazi volunteered, interjecting into the conversation. If the man was trying to find a way out before the exchange got too tense, Jasmine found it hard to blame him. It was getting uncomfortable in there as it was.

The black-haired girl nodded at him and moved away from the doorway as he walked out through the door. "Sure. Thanks!" she called after him before her blue eyes turned back to Luna. "Don't tell me you have no idea what sarcasm is." She arched a brow and her tone dropped at the end – it wasn't a question.

The Antarctic mermaid scowled at her, her eyes – eye – narrowing. "I know what it is," she hissed, before she stepped closer, her voice lowering until it was just barely loud enough to be overheard by the taller of the two with how close Luna was standing to Jasmine. "Jasmine, do me a favour and take care of me, okay? When I get nervous, I _change_. I become that… simulacrum."

 _I swear she has Dissociative Identity Disorder._ "Sure thing, Luna," Jasmine agreed, a mild frown curving her lips downward even as she used the mermaid's real name to emphasize her seriousness. "I'll be your keeper." She lightened her tone a little to try and dissipate the tension in the room. Had Helen and Lila not been asleep, the Panthalassan girl was more than certain that they'd have been spooked by the tense atmosphere already.

A cold, somewhat bitter laugh escaped from the mermaid as she backed up, her gaze leaving Jasmine. Her features contorted in a mixture of emotions that Jasmine could barely discern as worry and grief – old friends of hers – and the Antarctic mermaid hugged herself tightly. "Oh, you don't know what happens if you don't!" she hissed antagonistically. "When we go to the Arctic and you don't take care of me, give _up._ Don't bother to try and search for me. It's over." She scoffed viciously.

Oh, Jasmine was pretty sure the purple mermaid was not right in the head. She wasn't mentally stable herself, but she could spot them when she saw them. "Okay, _kid,_ " she emphasized, leaning in from where she was at the wall. "Lay off on the ominous foreshadowing. We don't need that kind of attitude now. I'll keep you within my line of sight while we're there – keep you within arm's reach. Does that sound alright?"

Luna scoffed at her. "I find myself wandering unconsciously… it's a habit."

The Panthalassan's smile was thin and rather forced. The mermaid was… determined to make this hard for her, wasn't she? "Then I'll get a chain and lock you to me," she drawled, plenty of sarcasm lacing her tone as she arched a dark brow at the purple mermaid, her lips still pursed into a thin, grim line.

The lilac-haired mermaid looked down at her feet, her voice softening up from the earlier harshness it had taken on when she had spoken earlier. "You… remind me of someone I used to know, you know, Jasmine?" She didn't look up. "It's… funny, really." Her voice was wavering. Was she about to _cry_?

 _Oh, shite._ Jasmine wasn't good with crying people.

"You know what we talked about earlier?" the black-haired girl asked hesitantly as she stared at the mermaid, leaning back up against the wall and folding her arms over her chest once more. She didn't wait for a response before she continued, "When I said that there'd be one of us willing to listen when, or if, you wanted to talk?" She exhaled softly, hoping that she hadn't made the biggest mistake of her life. Well, second biggest, if she didn't count actually agreeing to all of this rubbish in the first place. "I'm listening if you're ready to talk."

Luna was shifting uncomfortably in place as she fidgeted. "Maybe… maybe after…" she finally said, her voice laced with uncertainty as she hung her head. Her voice was soft, wavering. "No… I guess then it'll be too late…" She pulled at her longer braid with her hands before she inhaled sharply, her shoulders pulling up to her ears. "I… I lost everything," she mumbled. "My parents were great… had a great circle of friends – you remind me of one of them, you know. Her name was Miranda." Her voice trembled as she stopped playing with her hair.

"Go on," Jasmine prompted in a mild voice, as gentle as she could muster at the moment.

"My parents were part of the war. They ended up dying in the aftermath," Jasmine flinched here – it was too much of a reminder of her own parents – "and I went to live with my aunt. She was great, kind, everything, and I still had my circle… But they found out she had ties with the South Atlantic, and they took her away. They placed me with foster parents… horrible ones. They hated me, said I was just a burden. Three of my friends believed that I was guilty of crimes against the kingdom too, and they started going away. My best friend ever, Rachel, she ended up dead somehow."

The black-haired Panthalassan watched the mermaid as the latter spoke, Jasmine's blue eyes occasionally darting across to look at Lila and Helen to confirm that they were still asleep. Her gaze softened slightly as she looked back at Luna.

"I don't know how she died, but that was the breaking point. It pushed my friends away from me and they spread those rumours that I was planning to become a traitor. I was barely thirteen back then!" Luna's voice cracked. "They threw me in jail without a trial. I just… just stayed there for a while… a long while, and then the inmates with me arranged a jailbreak. We all left, going everywhere just so we wouldn't be found. It's why—why I'm scared to go back there… it'll hurt too much to be hurt like that again!"

"The Arctic has probably heard about that already, huh?" Jasmine finally asked, closing her eyes and leaning back. The two kingdoms of the Poles were always close, of course, so it only made sense. The Panthalassan grit her teeth together as she processed the information that Luna had dumped onto her, her hands closing into fists tight enough to draw blood from her palms. "It's bad enough that they hate us already for whatever reasons they have," she growled to herself, her anger at the racist mermaids of the kingdoms mounting. "And now they're so paranoid that they're starting to imprison their own kind too?"

The Panthalassan girl growled, inhaling sharply. "Hold on for a bit," she said slowly, bad memories dredging up from back in her school days when one of her less _tolerant_ classmates had nearly killed her in the chemistry labs, her tone slowly growing more forced, "I need to take a quick trip down to the Antarctic." It didn't matter that she was a little unnerved by Luna – no one deserved that. "What did you say their names were again?" Her vision was ringed with blue again, she noticed absently like it always got when she was angry. It had got that way too after the lab incident too.

"Don't worry about it," Luna said, shaking her head as she wiped the corners of her eyes with her hands. "It's in the past. I told you," she said, her eyes distant, "that one of my friends acted a lot like you before it happened. Plus, it's a long way off from where we're supposed to go," she added, trailing off at the end. "Our mission is in the Arctic, not the Antarctic." She offered Jasmine a tense smile. "I'll get over this. Let's focus on the mission… thanks for hearing me out, anyway."

"The mission can wait," Jasmine interrupted, frowning deeply. This was hitting way too close to home for her – it reminded her way too much of thirteen-year-old her, the her that let herself get pushed around by her classmates until one of her professors had stepped in. She couldn't stand people like them who'd take so quickly to bullying and hurting another. "What they did… that comes first," she snapped rather callously, folding her arms over her chest. "No one hurts someone like that and gets away with it. Not to my friends, they don't." She bared a vicious smile that was unnervingly sharp.

"It's been years! Forget them!" Luna yelped, waving her arms almost frantically as the mermaid stared at Jasmine, wide-eyed and gaping. "They're… they're still my friends," she added in a low voice.

 _What kind of friends leave you to rot in jail?_ The black-haired girl stayed silent, biting down on her lower lip to stop her retort before it left her. "If you insist," she started slowly, choosing her words cautiously, "then fine, I'll leave it. If I come face to face with them, though, no promises," she finished bluntly, staring down at the slightly shorter girl.

"We'll see about that." The corner of the Antarctic mermaid's lips twitched, not into a smile nor into a frown. "Anyway, for now, forget about it, okay? I'm content with hearing that I'm your friend." Luna's tone was lightly teasing.

Suddenly self-conscious, Jasmine coughed. "Did I say that out loud?" she muttered defensively, feeling her face grow heated slightly at her slip. "That… ah…" She cursed quietly as she scratched the back of her neck, wondering how she could possibly salvage the situation now. _Me and my big mouth, gods!_ "That's, uh… erm…"

A short bark of laughter escaped the mermaid and a wide, cheeky grin split the shorter girl's face. "I'll keep it a secret for you if you want. You already did enough for me." Dark purple eyes glinted brightly in amusement as Luna winked – or blinked, really. It was hard to tell when one of her eyes was covered.

"Thanks," the black-haired girl uttered self-consciously, looking away just in time to see Lila and Helen stir on the sofa, no doubt startled awake by her earlier outburst. "I'm, uh, not used to saying that out loud," she mumbled. "That'd be lovely." And then to draw attention away from her, she immediately called out the fact that Helen and Lila were now awake. "Got enough sleep now, you two?"

Luna's cheeky 'no problem' didn't escape Jasmine.

Helen yawned sleepily as the girl stretched out from where she was seated on the sofa, rubbing her blue eyes. "Yeah… it was a good nap," she answered airily. "Especially after that chase we had, you know?"

"You two started it!" Jasmine snapped accusingly as she looked away, trying to hide her flushed face. Inhaling sharply, the girl folded her arms over her chest as she exhaled slowly, averting her gaze to the side as she calmed herself down. "…right…" she muttered to herself, fairly confident that her face was no longer red. "So, has it been decided? We're going to go to the Arctic?" Her expression turned serious – she didn't have time to joke around if this was as serious a situation as she thought.

Luna nodded her assent, a fact that Jasmine was glad to note, as she didn't want to see what would happen if they ended up not listening to Aqua Regina's 'suggestion'. Perhaps only two of the ragtag bunch actually liked the ocean goddess, but it was doubtful that any of them would be foolish enough to avoid a direct instruction from a goddess.

"You lot seem to be getting along well," Kazi said as he entered the building, leaning on the wall on the opposite side of the door to where Jasmine was. He was smiling as he added, "This might be a fool's errand, but we have to risk it if it's commanded by a goddess."

Which was exactly what Jasmine had thought. That was unfortunate – she'd hoped that one of them would be protesting and she might – _might_ – not have to be an idiot.

"It's not going to hurt," Helen added, looking over with a nod of agreement. "If we've been chosen for… something, I guess we have to do it. Saving the world… doesn't too bad, huh?" The mermaid shot her a sheepish look.

Lila nodded enthusiastically, beaming from where she was seated on the sofa. "Mhm!" she agreed cheerfully. "Saving the world is going to be a real adventure, I'm sure! We're going to have a lot of fun!" She looked like she was glad that the tension was gone now.

"Sure, why not?" Shelia called, leaning on one hip as she made her presence in the doorway known, a foxy smile on her red lips. She grinned a little, baring her sharp teeth. "And if those mermaids try anything, I'll show them a Dark Concerto my ancestors would be proud of!"

Jasmine couldn't help but note the expressions they had, and she allowed the corner of her lips to quirk up into a smile. "All of you are bad influences," she mock-scolded with a roll of her eyes. "See? You've got the kid over there—" she motioned at Lila, "—to go on this crazy mission and you're making me smile while doing it!" Still, she couldn't help the faint chuckle of amusement.

Guess she wasn't getting out of this one easily.

 ** _Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch_**

Shelia decided that she couldn't quite put a finger on what she felt as she watched the group of… Saviors, was it? She certainly felt a soft spot in herself for this odd group, for whatever reason that was. Strange… she didn't usually get attached to people that easily, especially not people she had only just met that day. While it was mildly unnerving, she just chalked it up to the magic of the Fates and decided to leave it at that.

"So, do tell, what are we going to do from here?" she asked, walking forward as the demon assumed a serious look.

"With Red here, then I guess we've got a decision," Jasmine announced, her expression turning back to a serious one quite quickly. A grim smile pulled on the black-haired girl's lips as she held the water demon's gaze. "We're heading to the Arctic." The Panthalassan girl looked to be regretting it already

As she had expected. "Let's do this," Shelia declared confidently, her hands on her hips. "It's dangerous as fuck and probably just as idiotic, but we don't really have a fucking choice." Damn it, Shelia would have liked to live longer so Aren wouldn't be telling her successor 'I told her so', but then again there was a chance for her to live and make it so that the mermaids would never forget her and her kind.

"Oh, wait, when we say the Arctic, where are we heading? Arctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, or the North Pole?" Lila asked, tilting her head. "Like the top of the map in the world – I mean, map of the world at the top, er, top of the world on the map – kind of Arctic?"

"Yeah… the Arctic, the kingdom," Luna said as she sat on the sofa, looking away with what seemed like a bitter look in her eye. "We mermaids should be fine," she said, not looking at anyone else, "and since my arm feels better."

Jasmine nodded as she turned towards Lila. "The Arctic Ocean," she clarified. "Probably the capital, which is in the Arctic Circle, so I hope you have warm clothes ready, kid." Aww, did Jasmine care about the human-Ancient kid? That was _really_ nice to know.

Sarcasm noted.

"It could be mass suicide for us, but what the hell? So is this entire 'save the world' mission anyway," Shelia pointed out dryly and shrugged her shoulders. They were so going to die there – the mermaids there were ridiculously sharp with weapons in a way that only the mermaids from the Poles were. And to think those war-mongers could call the demons and Panthalassans evil? She scoffed. "Oh, wait, you all will freeze. I forgot."

Kazi shook his head. "Warming charms will be easy to place and maintain," he said. Hmm, so that was one less.

Luna shrugged. "I'm used to the cold, ebbing from the Poles. Don't need a jacket or anything." That was yet another.

As Shelia turned her gaze to Jasmine, the black-haired girl shook her head as well. "My body temperature is very low anyway. It bothers me much less than it would for anyone else. But if needed, I can head back to get some warmer clothes."

Helen wasn't bothered by the cold either, apparently. "I live close to the border," she said. "It might be colder, but at most I think I'll need something with long sleeves."

Lila gave her an almost sheepish smile when the demon turned her gaze onto the girl, a brow raised as she figured nearly none of them would actually have a problem at this rate. "Actually, I don't have any warm clothes," she said, scratching the back of her head. "I'm a winter baby, so I never really needed it."

Jasmine snorted at the statement. "Well, the Poles are somewhere around below zero Celsius. Think you can handle that, kiddo?"

"Umm… maybe a jacket would be nice."

The mermaid beside the Panthalassan – Luna – nudged the girl with a sly smirk. "Softie. So, would you get cold?" she asked Shelia, raising a brow.

"My kin can survive in extreme temperatures, but most races _would_ get cold…" Shelia remarked, her hands on her hips as she offered her explanation. "Don't want all of you to drop dead around me just because of the cold," she teased.

Luna mimed her statement and huffed, seeming offended. "How rude. I'll be fine in the Arctic, and jackets could slow us down."

At least one of the group was amused by the teasing, as Jasmine gave a short bark of laughter. "I'm sure I can find one of my school-time jackets for you, kid," she assured Lila even as she turned towards Shelia with a raised brow. "But that's the least of our worries. We need to find a way to cover up. We're a bunch that'll draw too much attention in an all-mermaid area."

"It's the fangs, claws and fins for me," Shelia pointed out. "Not to mention you, the kid and Kazi over there have legs. Neither of the rest of you two have normal hair color for mermaids either. Hell, speaking of that, even these eyes," here she pointed at her bright yellow eyes, "will reveal what I am. How on earth are we planning not to get any of us executed?"

"Do eye contacts exist in the sea world?" Lila asked aloud.

"I can place an illusion over us," Kazi offered. "I'm not quite certain how effective it may be as I haven't been to the Arctic in a long time and they might have gotten better at repelling magic, though I highly doubt it."

Helen tilted her head to a side, the mermaid leaning forward to rest her weight on her arms, which were propped on her knees. "It's worrying, but I've got the confidence that this will work," she vouched weakly.

"Wait! One last thing!" Lila's hand shot right up, a finger held up in the gesture. "Is there an Ursula?"

"What's an Ursula?" The question, asked by Jasmine, was echoed by both Shelia and Luna in their bewilderment, and though Helen looked equally perplexed, the girl didn't say anything. Kazi just smiled and shook his head.

"Ursula is not an object, silly Jasmine," Lila said playfully. "She's a character from one of the movies I watched when I was little! She's a lady of the sea who has a scary lair with bottles of yucky stuff and a big cauldron in the middle. She can make magic potions and spells, but she sells them for a price. Usually, not money price."

"Let me guesssss," Shelia hissed, drawing out the 's' on purpose. "Ssssoulssss?"

"Well… yes." The little girl's voice became smaller.

Jasmine snorted. "Sounds like a potioneer friend. Not the whole 'sell your soul' thing – Zmi's too nice for that – but the lair part. Apparently the dark, dank caves and basements help with potions and salves or whatnot. I can never keep up with her explanations on that."

Shelia scoffed in amusement. "Wouldn't sell my souls to a potioneer." She heard Luna and Helen make their assents from the side.

"Of course it is," Jasmine muttered from the side. She raised her voice a little as she spoke to Lila. "Don't worry, witches don't exist. Unless you count Shelia and me, but we're a different kind of witch." The corner of the other girl's lips quirked up, and Shelia matched it with a grin. "I can't understand why they always want souls, though. There are other things more precious, like a mermaid's pearl."

Luna frowned at that. "Maybe, but once a mermaid loses their pearl… they're not exactly mermaids anymore."

"You speak like you have experience with it," Jasmine said cautiously. For a moment, the room had gone silent, as if waiting for Luna's answer.

"Hmm…" Luna stared at Jasmine, unperturbed by everyone else looking at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, there was the way you said it," Jasmine replied, raising a brow, though Shelia could note the cautious undertone.

Luna repeated her words under her breath to herself. "Oh, yes, sure. Whatever you say." And she was glaring at Jasmine now. Mood swings much? The mermaid scoffed and looked away, holding her necklace in one hand.

Jasmine grimaced, holding up her hands in partial surrender, at least, from what Shelia could gather. "No need to get defensive," she shot back, her eyes narrowed. "Just saying."

"I'm going to take a walk," Luna muttered sourly as she pushed past Jasmine. "Get me when we're ready to go. Same place, you know where." She glared again at Jasmine and exited the room."

"Just don't pull me under again," Jasmine grumbled.

Shelia scoffed when Luna was out of the room. "Eventful day, I gather?"

"You have no idea." Jasmine rubbed her temples and sighed. "Okay, we need a plan. For now, we'll be safe if Kazi's illusion holds up, but that leaves two more problems." She held up two fingers. "How are we going to deal with the problem in the Arctic and which path will we take there?"

Lila held up a hand again. "Can you please tell me about the Arctic? I was only told a little bit about it," the girl said innocently. Well, Shelia really didn't blame the kid. She didn't know what had happened in the recent decades, or else she wouldn't be so candid.

Still, it was a sore topic for seemingly a good few of them, as both Jasmine and Kazi glanced away. Kazi looked somber while Jasmine was just pissed off at the place. Nevertheless, Jasmine answered. "The Arctic Ocean, where everyone who's not a mermaid is hated, hunted, and killed. Roughly two centuries ago it was led by the famed Guardian Princess Noel. It was refused aid by the North Atlantic when the Arctic went to war with the demons and Panthalassans seeking a place in their society. After the Ocean War, they started a mass genocide against all that were not their kind and have been staunchly anti-demon and Panthalassan ever since."

Shelia nodded – that was a pretty apt summary of the most racist kingdom, second only to the North's purple sisters. "Just imagine a frozen-over hellscape and you've pretty much got it," the demon added, making a clawing motion to emphasize her point.

Lila tilted her head to the side. "Oh… Oh! Hi Luna! How was your walk?"

The Antarctic mermaid shrugged wordlessly as she walked inside again and dropped down onto the sofa beside Helen. That was fast.

"Any plans on how we're going to do this?" Jasmine asked, louder, folding her arms over her chest. "Maybe supplies?"

"We could always book plane tickets," Kazi offered from where he was standing, though Jasmine shook her head in response.

"Impractical for our case," she stated. "We'd have to possess human passports if we want to travel with human methods, even if they'd be the safest choices we can use. Considering who we are, I doubt any of us aside from you and Lila would have them."

Luna just shrugged. "That's a hassle. We could just swim there, you know. Easiest way."

"I can teleport short distances, but I doubt that it will be of any use in this, though," Shelia commented flippantly. "Our best bet would be to swim, honestly… but it won't be easy."

Jasmine hummed softly. "That's what I was worried about," she admitted. "Out safest bet would be to proceed from the North Pacific since the borders here are less stringently patrolled than the borders to the Atlantic. But taking into account all of us, we'd need a two-day trip straight there with the minimum amount of rest needed and keeping pace with everyone included," she guessed. "Four days might be a safer guess."

What if we can take an ocean current?" Lila asked, excited. She leaned in with a wide smile on her face and she clapped her hands together enthusiastically, her blue eyes practically gleaming at the thought.

It sounded like a pretty rad idea, if one asked Shelia, though the currents didn't move too quickly near the ocean floor.

Jasmine shook her head. "It goes from the Arctic to the Antarctic through the Atlantic. Not going to work."

"I'm sure there's an ocean current that can take us closer there, even if it's just a tiny bit. Most of them move in circles." Lila beamed, looking rather proud of herself. "If not, then we can ride animals! Or take a boat, or shadow travel. Or use magic to make us invisible so that we can board a plane. Or snag a flight attendant uniform and play as a flight attendant. Or we can do a mix and travel by boat and then switch and travel the rest of the way by swimming." She looked ready to continue, but Jasmine stopped her from continuing.

The Panthalassan girl blinked slowly, looking a little lost. "Uh, hold on, Lila," she hastily cut in, a small grimace on her face, "too many suggestions and some are a little… far-fetched?" She ran a hand through her hair in what seemed to be exasperation. "Yes, they move in circles. The one just mentioned still only makes its way through the Atlantic, and the borders there are too dangerous to be risking. They're not quite as powerful as you're thinking, though if we get really unlucky and get trapped in a strong current… they're as dangerous and as hard to get out of as a whirlpool." She threw a glance over at Helen, which Shelia didn't miss.

"What's shadow travel?" Helen piped up, sticking out her tongue at Jasmine. "You've got great ideas, Lila, but they're kind of complicated. I'll agree with Luna and Shelia – we should swim up there."

"As long as we can go there and back quickly, I don't care," Luna replied, huffing.

"If we take the shortcut due north, we could get there faster than travelling with the main road. Might be safer too," Jasmine said.

Kazi made a sound of agreement. "If we take the main road, there's a higher chance that we'll be seen, and faster."

The black-haired girl snapped her fingers. "Precisely. And it's one of the only paths we can take that will lead us straight into the heart of the kingdom. There's a ghost town I can recall from my first and last trip there. Presumably, no one's still there, which is what I hope will be the case."

The plan seemed simple enough, Shelia figured, so they could stick with it. "So that's the plan, then?" the redhead asked lazily, resting a hand on her hip. "We can make the trip, I think. I've been on the road for even longer times in the past. So, let's just go with it… unless someone objects?" Her bright yellow eyes swept across the other five.

No one objected to the statement, and Jasmine spoke up again. "So it's settled. Supplies, then? Anything important – besides a map – that we'll need?" She paused, pursing her lips together. "Excluding a plan?" The dry tone didn't escape Shelia.

"Food and winter clothes," Lila piped up in reminder. "And maybe some cash?"

"Do we even need that?" Helen asked. "I mean, I don't think we'll have time to be going to the Arctic markets."

"Point," Shelia said, "but it'll help avoid suspicion, if it comes down to it."

"I collect money from all over the ocean," Luna spoke up. "I can get that, if it helps."

Jasmine clicked her tongue. "Well then, let's make this quick. I'll go and fetch a jacket for Lila, gather my weapons and our map – you're welcome to join me if you want, Shelia. Luna, you go and get that bag. The food—"

"I can take care of that," Kazi interjected. "Though I'd like some help."

"Right, then Helen and Lila, I trust you two can lend him a hand," Jasmine said, making her way out. "Let's get back here and then we can move out as soon as we're ready."

Shelia chuckled as she followed after the Panthalassan. "Looking forward to it!"

It wasn't long before they had gone there and back, both carrying a bag over their shoulders. Jasmine had a jacket too small for her tossed over her shoulder and her bag containing the map and a few tools, while Shelia was carrying what Jasmine had identified as weaponry and some poisons. Personally, Shelia was fine with her own claws, but poison seemed to be a nice touch.

The six gathered in front of Kazi's house on the beach, and Shelia allowed herself to recall once more how odd they looked together.

"Arctic, here we come," Luna said with a sigh.

Shelia couldn't agree more.

 ** _Battle Royale Pichi Pichi Pitch_**

Lucia sighed as she dismissed the image of the six Saviours, closing her eyes as the ocean goddess murmured a soft prayer to let the group be safe on their path. They had a long way to go, and she couldn't imagine how much longer they would have to put up with the destiny the Fates had woven for them.

The Saviours were in for much more trouble than they anticipated.

* * *

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